Nothing More, Nothing Less
by wandererred
Summary: Felix and Fiona are all too keen on Sasha bringing in their next mark all by herself, much to her chagrin. When she's left to her own devices, Sasha decides to use him for other purposes. That isn't as bad as it sounds, right? [August/Sasha]
1. Hitting (on) the Mark

Sasha breathed the warm night air in deeply and exhaled slowly through her nose. Dust hung thickly in the air, the fading light of the sun at the mouth of the cave casting a bizarre hazy glow over the tops of the buildings. Fiona shut the door to Felix's workshop behind her and Sasha steadied herself for phase one of their plan.

Walking to the Purple Skag wasn't going to take long, and she was going to have to figure out how to bring in their mark that night. She cringed openly at the thought of having to bat her eyelashes to get what she wanted.

"'But you're sooo good at it, you can knock 'em dead just like – that Moxxi chick!'," She mumbled to herself in a terrible impression of her sister's voice, "Good my ass, Fi." It didn't help that Fiona couldn't keep a straight face every time Sasha tried to teach her how to charm their marks. Overall, Fiona was a lost cause. Sasha adjusted her headband against her dreadlocks and straightened her goggles around her neck.

She pressed her palm against the door to the bar and leaned into it, attempting to get a closer look inside before she had to be fully in-character. She hadn't really picked a character either, so there was that.

The inside of the bar was silent, stools sat abandoned, some were knocked over or still sitting on tables. She knew it was too early to come to a bar. She cursed Felix and Fiona's eagerness from earlier and turned around sharply. Sasha was about to walk out the door when a man's voice came from behind her,

"Hey, do you _need_ something?"

Sasha whipped around a little too quickly and she saw him raise one of his eyebrows at her, his mouth twisted into a small smirk and he came from around the bar to stand before her.

"I hope you weren't planning on robbing me."

Sasha's voice squeaked, "N-no," she cleared her throat and straightened up, "just looking for a drink."

"Kind of early." The man crossed his arms. He wasn't buying her story.

"I – um – just got into town, I guess I'll come back later."

The man's face fell a little and he uncrossed his arms, "I wasn't telling you to leave. It's fine. Now is about when this place opens."

"Okay," She was waiting for him to turn around so she could follow him deeper into the bar, but he wasn't moving, "Everything alright?"

"I don't turn my back on anyone I don't know. What's your name?" His weirdly cautious demeanor made Sasha nervous, but she replied nonetheless. If she had to use this guy to get to August, so be it.

"It's Sasha." He nodded and waved her to follow him.

"August," _Well that was easy_ , "you said you were from out of town?" She followed him and he was throwing glances over his shoulder at her.

"Mmhmm." Sasha mumbled distractedly. She might have painted herself into a corner, she was going to have to tread lightly from now on.

"You seem, off?" He studied her face and she smiled nervously.

"Just really looking forward to that drink, August." She replied sitting down at one of the stools closest to the bar.

"Alright, what can I fix you?"

"I'd like," she breathed out slowly and bit her bottom lip, "a nice tall glass of you, August."


	2. Cute?

They sat in silence for a moment before August set down her glass and laughed in her face. She released her lower lip and scowled at him. _Cool moves, Sash._

"Pffft," August shrugged her comment off, lightly, "flirty…cute…but not working, Sweetheart." He slid her drink over to her and she gripped the glass tightly as he continued to chuckle at her.

"I'll tell you what. You made me laugh so I won't kick you out." He started making himself a drink and Sasha's expression softened.

"Ooookay." She took a sip of his cocktail and cringed as a weird mix of too much sour and too much sweet splashed into her mouth. She gritted her teeth together and waited for August to walk around the bar again before she could make a face. Stiffling a cough, she gave him a faint smile as he sat down next to her.

"So, how'd you end up in Hollow Point?"

 _Just follow the script_. "I've got a friend here. Staying with her while I get some business finished."

"Ah, a businesswoman. Well I happen to be a businessman myself," Sasha was supposed to be the one who was being vague to get him interested in her, not the other way around, "what kind of business are we talking about?"

"Oh the usual, eridium, guns, explosives…I'm going to be honest, I shouldn't be telling you any of this." It was a classic tactic, making someone feel special to get them to trust you. She was surprised he was falling for it.

"Not falling for it." There was a long pause between them.

"I'm sorry?" She wished he would wipe that smug grin off his face.

"I don't believe you. Look I'm in that business. I would have seen you around."

"Should you have told me that?"

"I mean, you would have found out eventually."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! Just that everyone in this town knows me as _that guy_ , so if you stayed here long enough you know you'd just hear it through the grapevine or something…probably."

"I'd certainly like to get to know you."

"See, there's the flirty thing again. Look, it's not working."

Sasha looked up at him, her mouth hanging open, "What do you mean? Is that not a totally normal thing to say?"

August was about to reply, when a masked man walked into the bar. He turned his head to look at August and Sasha, then quickly pulled up a stool to a table near the door. August held a single finger up towards Sasha and shouted to the front of the bar,

"Hey, we're closed. Come back later, pal."

"Sign says open." The man drawled, gesturing to the door. He took off his mask and lit a cigarette.

"I say it's closed." August moved his vest to the side to show a concealed revolver. The man's eyes widened and he nodded, getting up from the table. He forgot his mask as he ran out the door, a trail of smoke leaving a jagged line hanging in the air.

August shook his head and turned around to sit back at the bar, "I'm sorry, you were saying?"

Sasha at looked him confused for a second before continuing, "Don't worry about it. Um, I was flirting with you apparently."

He chuckled and shook his head, "Oh, now I remember. You want to get to know me. I'm sure that won't be a problem. Look, why don't you come around another time? Maybe when we're actually open."

 _Actually open_. "Yeah sure." Sasha nodded and got up from her seat. She looked into her mostly full cup and dug around in her pockets for some cash to pay for her drink.

August stopped her suddenly, "Hey, whatever. You obviously didn't like it. I guess I'll just have to keep trying while you're…getting to know me." He gave her a quick smile and started clearing their glasses.

"Okay, thank you." She smiled shyly. His attitude towards her almost made her feel guilty they were going to pull one over on him.

Almost.

"Anytime."

Sasha smiled at him and turned towards the door, leaving the Purple Skag in silence before August called out after her,

"So did it hurt?" She heard from behind her.

"What?"

"When you fell from heaven." the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Sasha held her hand over her mouth to suppress a laugh. August continued,

"See? You're not the only one."

"Cute. See you around." Sasha winked as she shut the door behind her. It had gotten considerably darker outside and most of the local businesses had turned on their lights, washing the city in a bright orange and yellow glow. It was like a second sunset in Hollowpoint.

Once she reached Felix's place again, Fiona was looking at her expectantly. Felix spoke first,

"So? How did it go?"

"Might have hit a few kinks, but I think we can do this." Sasha strode over to where Fiona was reclining in the corner, and sank down next to her sister.

"Good job, Sasha."

"Thanks, guys." Sasha leaned her head back against the wall and relaxed her eyes shut.

"Wait," Fiona spoke up next to her, "by 'a few kinks' do you mean you tried to charm him outta his pants?"

"Girls." Felix looked up from his book.

"What? Sasha's good at that." She nudged Sasha's shoulder playfully. Sasha's mouth fell open and she pushed back harder.

"That's not something I needed to hear." Felix shook his head, rubbing his temple with his free hand.

"No sense in getting weird and paternal on me, Felix. It didn't work. Plus, I hate that."

"The point is, we need you to bring in this mark. If it takes some time to work everything out, I'm fine with it. Nine million dollars is something we can all wait for."

"Noted." Sasha was still wracking her brain for a plan with August. She was going to have to keep her stories straight to gain his trust. How she was planning to do that, she had no idea.

 _'Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?' Like that had ever worked in the history of ever._ Sasha thought to herself. There was something when he had said it, like he was hoping she would hear it as a joke.


	3. Just a Scratch

It was about a week since she had identified their mark. His name was August, his facial ornamentation had been a teenage rebellion that he never really came to regret, he spent most of his money on guns, and presumably the rest on hair care products.

They spent most of their time at the Purple Skag, which was fine with Sasha ever since his cocktails had started tasting better.

She walked into the Purple Skag around their usual time, just a bit after they opened. She sat at the bar and asked for August.

"Oh, yeah, he's upstairs. Just taking care of some business. I'm sure he will be done shortly." There was something at the end of the man's sentence that piqued Sasha's interest. He smiled slyly and noted her facial expression, "Don't worry. I don't mean anything by that."

He was lying through his teeth, but Sasha ignored this and took her drink to their usual table by the stairs. The bar wasn't usually busy until much later into the night, but tonight it was much more occupied than usual. Mercenaries of every size and shape sat scattered around the inside of the bar. They all eyed Sasha suspiciously and she sat up a little straighter. She was glad she always had her gun on her these days, and August seemed to appreciate it as well. Of course, everyone on Pandora could use a gun, but August seemed to appreciate how careful she was being. Plus it always gave them something else to talk about that Sasha didn't have to memorize a script for.

She was brought out of her thoughts by gunshots from upstairs and the sound of August's voice,

"Son of a bitch!"

Suddenly everyone in the bar was at on their feet, hands ready to draw their firearms. Sasha remained seated, using her position in relation to the stairs to her advantage. If she had to, she could probably duck behind the bar or under the stairs. Of course, depending on who was doing the shooting, she might have to fight her way out.

A man very similar in attire to the mercs in the bar sprinted down the stairs. He was holding his leg with one hand and kept his pistol raised in the other.

"Tector! Don't let him leave!" August came sprinting down the stairs after the man, blood trickling down the side of his right arm. Every gun was drawn in the bar, even Sasha's. The door swung open loudly and a large man carrying a pistol came running through. The man August shot was limping behind a wall of similarly dressed mercenaries, their guns trained on August.

Sasha gripped the hard metal edge of the table and stood up. August gave her a confused look, keeping his gun trained on the wall of muscle in front of him. She put both of her hands under the table and tipped it over with a loud crash. There was a beat before the firing began and August joined her behind their makeshift cover.

"Good thinking, Sasha!" August shouted over the gunfire, "I'm sorry, not a lot of my deals go down like this!"

"Shut up and let's get these guys out of here!" She responded, turning towards their shield and peeking over. His eyes lit up and he nodded at her silently. She fired into a crowd of men by the door. Most who weren't hit turned around and tried to crowd through the door. Bullets whizzed past Sasha from the other side of the room and she focused on trying to take out the mercenaries who had taken cover behind the bar.

Tector followed the large crowd of mercenaries who had escaped through the door, shouting obscenities. The limping man was the last one to leave, and August managed to get him in his other leg. He let out a cry and fell down the stairs outside.

"I didn't think you'd bring friends, asshole!" August shouted after him as he slid down the steps and out of view.

The firing died down and Sasha peered out from her side of the table. August was cursing under his breath as he did the same around the other side.

"The bullet holes add character?" Sasha proposed, raising herself into a standing position and offering her hand to August.

"Yeah, I guess. I really wasn't expecting this much carnage." He holstered his weapon and rolled his right shoulder. Sasha saw a sizeable trail of blood running down his arm and she furrowed her brow.

When the both of them attempted to turn the table over, August hissed and dropped his side,

"Are you going to be okay?" Sasha walked over to him and gently poked at the edges of the wound.

He knocked her hand out of the way and cursed, "Yes, I'm fine. Just - stop touching it!" Sasha looked at him indignantly.

"You have to wrap that up, August. Come on, we can fix everything else later." Sasha led them over to a table nearby. Brushing a few shell casings off, she set her gun down and went to search for a first aid kit under the bar.

"You don't have to do this, I'm going to be fine." He tried wiping some of the blood on his forearm off on his jeans, twisting his arm awkwardly and causing himself to cringe more.

"Whatever." She walked over with bandages and alcohol and sat down next to August. She splashed some alcohol onto a small square of fabric and began wiping the area around the wound. When she went to drag the pad past the cut on his arm, he grabbed the table for support. Sasha rolled her eyes at how tough he was trying to be; she knew how much this sucked. Luckily for him, she wouldn't have to stitch anything. It appeared as though the bullet merely grazed him.

"Okay, sucky part is over." She teased and he turned to smile at her half-heartedly. He breathed out slowly and relaxed back in his chair.

"Heh, thanks, Sash." He kept his eyes on her face as she wrapped a bandage around his upper arm. She kept her hands delicate so as to not cause him any more pain. She didn't say anything.

"You know, you're pretty good in a fight. I'd like to have you around here more." August's voice was hushed. She looked up into his eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm already here quite a bit, August." She looked back to his bandages and tucked the end of the strip back into the folds.

"Yeah, I guess," he breathed out shakily moving his arm against the bandages, "what I mean is I'd like you around _me_ more."


	4. Carried away

**A/N:** I am so grateful for the reviews and the views. It's great to know I'm not alone in the August/Sasha pit. Enjoy! ;)

Sasha's hands stopped moving over his bandages and she looked at him again. He smiled at her uncertainly and she couldn't help the small lump that had wormed its way into her throat. She smiled back warmly and leaned her face in closer to his,

"I think I'd like that, too."

He raised his hand to her cheek, and she felt color flood into her cheeks. He swept a rough finger pad across her chin and wiped it on his jeans.

"You had some blood on your face," He cleared his throat and looked back down at his arm, "thanks for cleaning me up."

"Oh, you're welcome." She drew her face back from his and followed his gaze to the bandages.

"Damn, looks like I didn't stop the bleeding." Sasha observed the bright red patch that had bloomed across his wrappings.

"It's the adrenaline." He shrugged his shoulders dismissively.

 _Or it's your blood pressure, Cassanova._ She thought.

"Sure it is." Sasha giggled. When he left the side of his face exposed to her, she moved her chair closer and placed her lips against his cheek.

Sasha got up from her seat to return the first aid kit to back under the bar. He was probably smiling like an idiot. The idea of turning this tough as nails brawler into a kitten made her quite proud of herself. Then again, he might have been having the same effect on her. That idea made her stomach do a little flip-flop, and she swallowed hard before looking back up at him from across the room.

"I'm glad you're okay, Sash." He said, finally looking over to her. She knew that look. She had him in the palm of her hand.

"Me too, Augie." He cringed, making Sasha laugh out loud.

"No good?" He shook his head, "Noted."

She nudged the bartender with her boot and he groaned. Most of the people in the fight had made it out intact. Luckily there wasn't too much damage to the building itself; however, a fair amount of shell casings would have to be swept up and quite a few glasses would probably need replacing.

"Your man over here is going to be okay, I think they just knocked him out."

"Good," He got up stiffly and strolled over to the stairs, "would you mind switching the sign off on your way out? Not that I want you to leave, just when you do…"

"I get it, dude." Sasha joined him at the base of the stairs.

"I'm just going to go upstairs. Dumbass left his shit up there probably." He sighed and started up the stairs.

Sasha grabbed her gun from the table and shifted on her feet awkwardly, "I think I'm going to go?"

"Okay. That's fine." August paused at the landing and Sasha walked up behind him. He squinted at her,

"Aren't you going to go?" He asked uncertainly.

He wanted her around, so she figured she would indulge him, "I think so, but I can help you clean up around here if you want." She didn't know exactly what she was doing. She felt slightly out of control and she liked it.

"Yeah, we should start upstairs I guess." He reached his hand out and flipped off the switch on the wall. The bar went dark, and she followed August's backlit form into the warm orange glow that was pouring down from the attic. Sasha was suddenly very aware of what she was doing.

 _Please don't live here. Please don't live here._ The rational part of her brain chanted furiously.

He reached the top of the stairs before she did and he turned around, "I knew it. Should really find me some smarter clients." August turned to a table and chairs in the corner and picked through a bag sitting there. He sat down in one of the chairs and pulled another out for Sasha.

She looked around the attic, surveying her surroundings carefully. A few bare bulbs were littered across the vaulted ceiling, and a single window sat on the far wall. There was a privacy curtain blocking off part of the room and Sasha could see the end of a mattress poking out from the side closest to her. She turned back to where August was seated, looking at the wall behind him to see gun advertisements with small strings of lights draped over them. Under these were several rough sketches of guns she had never seen before.

"Oh, you noticed those?" He stopped what he was doing and gestured to them with a magazine.

"Yeah, what are they?" Sasha stooped down to look at a drawing for one that had the words 'super badass gun mk 2 [change name]' penned under it in messy handwriting. She rolled her eyes.

"Um, they're gun designs? They're so rough, just ignore them." He seemed to be uncertain what they were himself, clearly flustered that anyone had seen them in the first place.

"No, no these are great, how do you come up with them?" Her gaze strayed to other sketches of skags and bullymongs, and finally to another full-color one of a Pandoran sunset.

"Honestly? It's just throwing together different things I like onto a gun and hoping it works," he noticed her looking at the sunset picture, "I also draw stuff I see when I go out on jobs."

"Wow," She breathed, "I see this, and I forget that Pandora wants to kill me."

"Wouldn't that be something," August set his magazine down and leaned back in his chair, "that's why I don't draw people."

"Yeah. If they're not trying to shoot you, they're trying to stab you in the back…figuratively and literally." She felt a pang of guilt in her stomach when he grunted approvingly.

"Exactly. You understand." He drawled, clearly exhausted by the fire fight downstairs. She figured it was time to go, or at least part of her did.

Sasha faked a yawn, "I suppose I can get out of here if you don't need any more help." She began to walk towards the stairs and August rose from his seat.

"Wait, Sasha?" She turned around near the table, the pit of her stomach dropping through to the floor.

"Yes?" He was so close to her that she could feel the heat radiating off of his body. She felt the strangest compulsion to reach her hand out and touch him and run her hand down the side of his face. Sasha made up excuses in her head, convincing herself she only wanted to do that for him. His angular features cast strange shadows against his cheeks in the warm glow of the room. She saw his Adam's apple bob before he spoke slowly,

"Thanks for being here today, you really helped me out of a bad situation."

"Anytime…" Sasha trailed off and angled her head up to look into his face.

The look was back. It was a look that could make her feel like the only one in the room (present circumstances not withstanding), and above all it was a look that warmed her from head to toe. It was also a look that set off every alarm in her body. He placed a hand on her shoulder and the other under her chin. Everything inside of her head was screaming, but she angled her head up instinctively and closed her eyes.

She was taken aback at how gently he pressed their lips together. He drew both of his hands up to her face and she sighed against his mouth.

Any part of her brain that told her this was a terrible idea had been shut off. She leaned into his chest, looping her arms around his neck. He pulled away and she opened her eyes.

"Hey." He chuckled and Sasha smiled up at him. He smelled like gunpowder and the outdoors, a scent that Sasha started to believe that she could get used to.

"Hi yourself."

Sasha pushed her palm against his chest and walked them back to the chair he had been sitting in before. She shoved him back one last time so he was sitting again, and walked herself so his legs were between hers. He grabbed her hips and pulled her onto his lap. The chair groaned under their weight and they both laughed. She looked into his eyes in the low light and placed her hands on his shoulders. When she readjusted her hips against him, a low growl rumbled from deep in his chest. He looked up at her from half-lidded eyes and she leaned in to kiss him again. He kept up the rhythm from before, rotating her hips against his. She sighed against his lips again and leaned in to deepen the kiss.

This was not how she normally handled anything, but she couldn't deny how good it felt to know she was wanted in that moment. It was just…whatever this was, right? Nothing more, nothing less.

She drew back from the kiss and he was panting against her neck.

"Hey." Sasha swallowed and August laughed. Their faces were so close and her head was spinning. Her lips felt puffy and there was a heat building up deep in her belly. They stilled their hips and she pushed her hands underneath the fabric of his vest.

"Is this okay?" She looked down at him cautiously, feeling his hear fluttering against her thumbs.

"Yeah…" He mumbled and shrugged his vest off onto the floor, careful to not disturb his bandages. She could feel her own heart mimicking his excited rhythm. She moved his hands from her hips and to the zipper on her jacket,

"This is okay too, August." He shivered when he heard her sigh his name. She felt like it took him forever too remove her jacket, and the zipper echoed loudly in the empty room. He laughed nervously when she was only sitting before him in her white tank top. Sasha removed her goggles from around her neck and took her headband with them. Their lips met again, and this time Sasha was rougher against August's mouth.

One of his arms came to loop around her waist and he gripped the other against her thigh. He stood up with her in his arms and she hooked her legs around his hips. August stilled his mouth against hers and pulled away. She felt absolutely drunk in his presence. His eyes were smoldering as they looked into hers,

"We can move this somewhere else, Sasha." She loved the way he said her name just then, and the way his bright blue eyes hungrily roved over her. She tightened her legs around his middle and breathed out her answer,

"I'd like that." The surprised look on his face faded to a smile as he began walking them towards the privacy curtain.


	5. Afterburn

Sasha awoke looking up at the Purple Skag's slanted ceiling, she rubbed her eyes sleepily and rolled over to her side. August was next to her, the blanket on top of them pulled down past his stomach. Sasha tucked her side up to her chin and rolled onto her back, stealing glances at his body out of the corner of her eye. The man was fit, she couldn't deny that. He wasn't exactly cut up, but he had these killer shoulders. She could have sworn she saw rough nail marks dragged across his tan skin. The idea that she might have made those caused a dull ache between her legs.

In that moment, she had two conflicting questions bouncing around in her skull: Did she really just throw away one of her only bargaining chips with August and why had she not done this sooner?

The rational part of her brain had turned back on since the _incident_. She knew she fucked up. Yet that choice of words sent flashes of graphic images reeling through her head. She bit her lip when she remembered the feeling of August's lean form lowering himself onto her. Everything was just so good. Part of her knew she would start kicking herself as soon as she left, but for now she closed her eyes and willed herself to remember every detail of that night.

She sunk her teeth further into her lip when August mumbled in his sleep, something that brought her back to the shameful sounds they had made mere hours ago. She let her eyes roam indulgently over his exposed stomach. Sighing lightly, she tucked her hands underneath the blanket and rolled over on her left side.

The ache between her legs intensified and she let her hand snake down her taut stomach. She teased her fingers past the opening between her legs, picturing the moments when August's head had been pressed in the middle of her thighs.

She felt movement behind her and August rolled over, pressing his warm body against her. Sasha gasped gently, but still pressed back into him and he grazed his teeth along her ear.

"Hey…" She turned her head and ran her lips along his jawline.

"How was that?" He looped his arm around her middle and pulled her on top of him.

She rested her head against his chest, "Pretty damn good."

"Yeah, me too." He trailed his hands down her lower back and looped his arms around her waist. She circled her arms around his neck and looked up at him. August looked down at her face in the low light and smiled sleepily,

"You're beautiful."

"You too." She buried her face in his chest and started giggling.

"Nice." Her face bounced against his chest and she looked up into his face again. He really wasn't that bad looking, and he wasn't that bad of a lay either. Part of her thought she might stick around like he had asked. He was looking at her again, as though he were trying to remember every detail of her face. She didn't deserve to have him look at her that way, especially now.

He lifted her chin up towards him and cocked his head to the side, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied. He nodded and pulled her up higher on him so he could kiss her sweetly. He turned his head to the side to deepen the kiss and hugged her tightly to his chest.

She dragged her teeth across his lower lip and felt him moving underneath her. They were both breathing heavily when she pulled away,

"We _are_ both up." He tried to say nonchalantly and Sasha rolled him on top of her.

"You drive a hard bargain, sir." Sasha laughed. August pulled the blankets off of them and started kissing down her stomach.

She leaned her head back against the pillows at the head of the bed and watched him descend through half lidded eyes. Suddenly she heard a beeping coming from somewhere in the room. Sasha sat up and August knelt at the side of the mattress. He was pawing around in the darkness for his ECHO ear piece.

"Not mine." He shrugged.

Sasha rolled herself off of the mattress and furiously searched for her pants. August crawled back onto the mattress and reclined with one arm behind his head. Eventually, her hands closed around the small metal piece and she shoved it into her ear.

"Hello?" She said in a fake-groggy voice.

"Sasha! Oh my god! We've been trying to contact you for hours!"

"Oh, shit, Fi. I'm sorry! What time is it?" She felt terrible for making her worry this whole time, although she thought she did have a pretty good excuse.

"It's fine. Are you alright? We came to the Purple Skag as soon as we heard the gun shots! Are you still there-?" There was a slight pause and Sasha could practically hear the cogs in Fiona's head turning, "Were you sleeping when I called you? Are you SLEEPING there?"

"I was, but it's not what it looks like!" Sasha was searching for an excuse frantically in her head.

"Ohhh myyyy gooooood." It was too late, Fiona had already drawn her own conclusions. Sasha felt all of the heat rising to her face and she turned back towards August.

"Please come home. Felix and I are worried!"

"Okay, Fi see you soon." Sasha sighed and ended the call.

"Everything alright?" August asked innocently. He was laying back on the mattress, one of his knees bent. Sasha walked around the room to pick up her clothes, shamelessly sneaking glances at his body in the dark room.

"Yeah, I just didn't tell my friend about spending the night here. I didn't know I was until...Anyway she heard the gunshots and came looking for me. I just-I should really get back." Sasha threw on her tank top and jeans over her underwear and pulled her boots on.

"Okay. Should I take you back?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"Call me if you need anything."

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow?"

August was pulling his shirt back on over his head, "Yeah, I'd like that."

Sasha smiled and collected the rest of her things from the table on the far side of the room.

She made her way down the stairs slowly. Her legs felt like jelly and she wanted just go back up the stairs and go to sleep. She didn't want to, but she felt guilty for that night. She felt guilty for needing to make him fall for her. Before today, he listened to her, ignored customers for her, and today they fought together. A tiny part of her brain thought she might have been falling for August, too, which only served to make her feel worse about the entire situation. She was never anyone's favorite, really. Felix was always helping Fiona with cons, hell, he had even taught her how to pick pockets better than Sasha. She had tried for years to tell herself that it was because Fi was older, but there were always inconsistencies.

She stepped out into the muggy night air and walked down the street from the Purple Skag.


	6. Change of Plans

**A/N:** I just want to take some time and thank everyone for all of the kind reviews! Writing has been helping me work through a lot going on in my life right now, and it means so much that you all are enjoying it. Thank you from the very bottom on my shipper-trash heart!  
 **Now, back to the fun!**

Fiona wrapped her arms around Sasha the second she stepped through the door, nearly crushing her rib cage in an impossibly strong hug.

"Oh my god, I was so worried Sasha!"

"Thanks, Fi." She choked out as Fiona set her down on her feet again. Fiona took one look at Sasha's disheveled appearance and her mouth dropped open.

"You didn't!?"

"Didn't what, Fiona? Grow up! Keep your voice down!" Sasha cautioned, but it was too late.

"What's going on here, girls?" Felix stirred from his chair and rose to wrap Sasha in a tight hug.

"Nice to see you all, too." Sasha stepped back and threw her jacket across a chair next to her.

"Sasha! A-and the mark!" Fiona choked out, making bizarre and obscene gestures with her hands. Felix wrinkled his eyebrows and looked towards Sasha.

"I don't—I'm not sure what you mean Fiona."

"I mean she screwed the guy we are going to screw over!"

"August." Sasha put her hands on her hips and glared at Fiona.

"Now Fiona, you have no idea what was going on at the Purple Skag when we showed up. Sasha was resting from the fight when you called. Be more sympathetic. Just look at all those marks on her neck."

Fiona crossed her arms and huffed, "Ohmygod, those are hickeys. You have hickeys, Sasha."

"Fiona." Felix pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"Fi, please. You're embarrassing yourself." Sasha walked over to the dining room table and sat down to take her boots off.

"Okay, so if this is true – and I'm not saying it is," Felix shook his head, "—and I definitely do not condone this…"

"Ugh." Sasha put her head down on the table in embarrassment and heard Fiona snickering behind Felix.

"Sasha, this can work into our plan. Just keep playing him into your hands—"

"—and your pants!" Fiona was never going to forget this.

"-and this might still work."

Sasha was glad they couldn't see her face, because she was so disgusted with their plan. There was no part of this that was going to result in August not getting hurt, and she resented herself for being so rash at the Purple Skag. Of course they thought she was being clever. The only problem was it hadn't been con-woman Sasha who wanted to sleep with August, real-Sasha wanted to. He was going to hate her for the rest of his life when this was all over, and she would _probably_ never be able to forgive herself.


	7. Tonight

**A/N:** Many apologies for how short the previous chapter was! I hope you all enjoy this (much longer) one. Your reviews make me so happy, thank you all for joining me in Sasha/August hell!

Sasha dragged her feet across the dirt to the Purple Skag that afternoon. She wanted to check on August after their run-in with those bandits the previous night. She figured there was a possibility that they could return, no matter how unlikely that was. Her and August kicked ass last night.

Of course, the firefight wasn't the only thing on her mind from the night before. She tried to convince herself that it was the adrenaline that had her jumping his bones last night, but it was to no avail. She knew that as soon as she nudged the door to the Purple Skag open.

The only lights that were on in the building were those behind the bar, casting August in a deep purple hue. He was at the bar, his back to the rest of the room. She ran her eyes over the parts of him that she could see from behind the counter. He had taken his piercings out, but he was still wearing the same shirt she had left him in last night. He was sweeping up broken glass and shell casings off of the floor. The bandage on his right arm had been changed since last night, and she was happy he actually did a better job wrapping it up than her.

"Hey, August?" She called out to him as she approached the bar.

"Hey." He came around the bar and greeted her with a small kiss on the cheek. She closed her eyes and smiled when his goatee tickled along her jaw. _He definitely hasn't tried to forget last night._

"How long have you been working on this?" Sasha gestured to the fairly pristine bar behind her.

"Not long," August let out a husky laugh, "I woke up a little late today. Had a long night."

"Oh," Sasha's neck was hot and she mumbled, "me, too." August turned back to what he was working on and Sasha noticed a small circular bruise on the side of his neck. _Did I do that?_ The heat in her neck rose to her cheeks and she was shaking her head silently behind him.

"I'm going out tonight," he turned his head to look over his shoulder, "into the desert outside Hollow Point."

"Okay." Sasha certainly wasn't hoping this was going where she thought this was going.

"Want to come with me? I'm assuming you'll want to let your friend know, too. So just let me know when you come back around here tonight."

 _I actually want to crawl into a hole right now._ "Sure, actually I can just ask her now." Sasha turned her back to him and pinged Fiona.

She picked up almost immediately, "Sasha?"

"Hey, Fi."

"Hey, yourself, sis. What's up?"

Sasha mentally prepared herself for the verbal abuse she was about to receive, "You remember that guy August I told you about?"

"Oh, you're around him so you have to be in character. Nice. "

Sasha rolled her eyes, "So he and I are going out of town tonight. I'll be home sometime tomorrow probably, so don't worry about me."

"Whoohooo, Sashaaa," Fiona sang into her ear, "don't have too much fun. Thanks for keeping us – I mean me – updated. Let us know if you run into any trouble."

"Thanks, I'll see you then."

She nodded at August and he smiled, "Yeah, all good."

He nodded back at her and put away the broom he was using. Walking around the bar to where Sasha was standing, he sat at a stool behind her and she turned around to face him.

"What's the plan?" She asked, sitting next to him. Sasha kept her arms tucked around her sides, as if that were going to keep her more in control.

"Didn't think you'd agree to it, honestly. Give me a minute to think about it."

"Why not, August?" Sasha's right hand went to support her chin and she leaned forward on her knees.

"You left in a hurry last night. I thought I'd scared you off." He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back against the counter.

Sasha laughed nervously and his face fell. She knew it was a bad idea for the con, keeping him questioning her true motives. It was going to be best to just continue to _act_ like she had fallen for him, which – _unfortunately_ \- wouldn't be hard. She'd done this before, but this time felt starkly different. Maybe it was because she had always left their marks wanting more, keeping everything they wanted just out of their reach. She would trick them into thinking that if they gave Sasha what she wanted from them, they would get what they wanted from her. With August, there was so comparison. He already had her, so her options were becoming extremely limited. She thought of what Fiona had said to her that morning. Before she left Felix's that day, she had pulled her aside,

"You can't play coy with him anymore, that option has been thrust out the window – pun extremely intended."

Sasha had rolled her eyes up to the ceiling as she replied coldly, "Well, then how are we going to handle this, Fi?"

"I guess just keep giving him what he wants, whatever that is. Play girlfriend, play young-love, whatever you want, just keep playing him."

 _Keep playing him_. She thought, looking at the side of August's face. Some parts of this deal might work out for the both of them. She envisioned crawling on top of him after their fire fight yesterday, her eyes closing pleasantly. Of course, everything was going to go to shit the second she pulled the rug out from under him. That was how these things usually went, but this time she felt pretty terribly about it.

Sasha was going to have to push those thoughts from her mind if this was going to work. If she kept doubting herself it might show, which would lead to too many questions from August.

She rose from her stool, repeating her own mantra in her head. _Play your part. Play the part._ Sasha stood in front of August and grabbed his hands, lacing his fingers with her own. She had to admit, it was corny, but he went along with it. She straddled herself over his lap again and brought their foreheads close together.

"Not at all, August." She sighed.

"Good." He mumbled, clearly at a loss for words. He unlaced his fingers from hers and circled his hands around her waist, drawing her up further onto his lap.

"There are always, um, other things that we can do?" She whispered coyly against his ear. Her heart was thrumming in her ears when she felt him let out a shaky breath against her collarbone.

"Sure thing, Sash."

Sasha pecked him on the lips, their mouths lingering just past what was appropriate for a quick kiss. Her heart jumped to her throat and she rose from his lap.

"We can leave whenever you want. Do you have your gun?" August stood up with her and adjusted his shirt. His vest was probably still on the floor upstairs by the table, sitting in a sad heap underneath the chair he had been sitting in last night.

"Yeah." She stammered, smoothing out her own clothes.

"That's my girl." She looked over at him, curiously. Did he mean that? He had his arms crossed over his chest and was looking at Sasha with his head cocked to the side. She liked that. How he had so proudly said that. It made her feel nothing short of special. She quickly transformed her expression into a warm smile and replied,

"Damn right." He smiled back and walked up to the base of the stairs.

"I'll be a minute." August disappeared up the steps and Sasha sat down at a table.

Sasha couldn't believe what she was feeling. She was excited to go out and do whatever it was they were going to do. She'd get to leave Hollow Point, and be outside to see the sunset. They could watch the stars away from the lights of any town, which sounded cheesy at best, but _nice_. Of course, she assumed they'd be fighting their way out there, but that may have actually sweetened the deal.

August came down the steps carrying a small backpack slung over his shoulder. He had put on his vest upstairs and Sasha also saw something new clipped to his belt. Noticing her intrigue, he pulled an identical item out of his bag and threw it at her. She caught it and turned the device over in her hands,

"A shield?"

"Yep, it's not a lot, but just in case we run into trouble."

"Thank you." She mumbled quietly. Sasha clipped it to her belt and watched a small blue film flicker over her skin. He was being modest; this was a Vladof shield, and a rare one at that. She couldn't help but feel small butterflies in her stomach at the thought of him wanting to protect her.

"Are we ready to head out?" Sasha stood up and holstered her gun.

"Yeah." August led the way through the bar out of a back door. She stepped out into the alley as August was throwing his bag into the back of a runner. Climbing into the passenger side, she sat herself low in the large seat and tried not to imagine how perfect it would be for two.


	8. Sand

**A/N:** I was such a tease a few chapters ago. This is to make up for that. What's better than some smut to combat those Monday blues? ;) Thank you all for the positive reviews. If you want to come talk to me about Sasha/August or TFTBL headcannons or anything really, you all can find me on tumblr. Wandererlila is the name! Enjoy!

After attempting to find dinner with marginal success, Sasha and August prepped the runner to head out further into the desert.

Sasha tightened her seat belt and August started up the engine. The sand had taken on a purple hue in the darkness of the early evening. Sasha watched any semblance of light from the mouth of Hollow Point fade to a tiny bright speck on the horizon in the rear view mirror. She swallowed hard, her fists balling in her lap.

When August stopped the runner Sasha could barely make out any lights on the Horizon. They both left the vehicle and August grabbed his bag from the back.

"Need any help?" Sasha walked over to the driver's side.

"No. Thanks, babe." He looked up at her, gauging yet another nickname. Sasha couldn't help but let the corner of her lips turn up slightly. August drew out a blanket from within the pack and set it on the ground. She hadn't thought August would have had a romantic bone in his body. It was a pleasant surprise. It was probably the cheesiest thing for them to be out here like this, but part of Sasha knew she wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. She cursed the warmth worming its way into her heart again.

Sasha looked away, and up at the stars. Elpis kept the night well-lit for them, making it easy for her to scan the horizon for anything that might want to make them its dinner. She took out her gun and walked around to the other side of the runner.

"Sasha?" August called out from the other side when she was halfway through her patrol.

"Just checking the perimeter." She came around the other side behind him and he turned around.

"Good thinking, I like that. Wanna have a seat?" He sunk down on the blanket near the runner and leaned back against the driver's side door. Sasha tucked her gun away and sat herself between his knees, leaning back into his chest.

"You ever been off Pandora?" He asked her, slowly wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"No," she slipped, forgetting the script for a moment, "I mean, yes. Yes I have."

"You sure about that?" His laugh vibrated against her back.

"Yeah, sorry. It wasn't a very good time in my life, I guess." She needed to get him less interested in stuff she had to lie about, the warm feeling in her chest was replaced with small pangs of guilt.

"Well what does it look like from out there?"

"You're telling me you've never been off of Pandora, August?"

"Yeah." He said flatly. Sasha turned her head slightly to see him looking off at some point in the sky. She frowned slightly and answered his question,

"I guess…small? Like everything that is happening down here means nothing. I guess." She felt oddly poetic telling him all of these lies. To be fair, Felix had left Pandora once and had described it to her when she asked him the same question.

"Huh."

They sat in silence for a while, the stillness of the wastes supplying the only occasional sounds of whistling wind and floating sand.

Sasha adjusted herself between his knees and leaned her head back against his shoulder. August's face was angled up towards the sky, and she followed his gaze. He was looking at Elpis.

"Ugly looking thing, isn't it?"

"You mean the Helios station? The ugliest," Sasha laughed brightly, "at least the stars are pretty, right?"

"Beautiful." He turned his head so he could look at her. Her face burned, heat trickling into her chest again. Sasha put her hand up on the side of his face and pulled him into an awkward kiss. It hurt her neck, but she didn't care when she felt his lips against hers. He mumbled against her mouth and she pulled away.

"Sorry, that's just killing my neck."

"Oh," she laughed awkwardly and got onto her knees in front of him, "sorry."

"Don't worry about it." He pinched her chin between his thumb and forefinger and pulled her face back to his.

She placed her hands on either side of his head against the door. When his tongue swept past her lips and dipped into her mouth, she balled her fists against the cool metal. They tilted their heads, deepening the kiss and August let loose a throaty groan. He took his hands against her back and pulled her down onto the blanket on top of him.

"Don't you want to maybe look at the stars some more or something?" Sasha pulled away and snorted when he wrinkled his face up at her.

"They'll still be there an hour from now, right?" August laughed under her and she put her lips on his once more. She balled her fists against the front of his shirt and he kissed her harder. A familiar ache started stirring between her legs.

"Not here – Sand." August breathed out huskily against her lips.

Sasha pulled her face back from his, a trail of saliva running between their mouths. She nodded and sat up, straddling his waist,

"Is there space in the car?" Her chest was rising and falling heavily and she could feel her heart hammering against her ribs.

"We'll make room."

Sasha crawled off of him and he threw the blanket in the back of the runner along with his pack. He climbed back inside and motioned for Sasha to follow him. They were both in the vehicle now, and he was clumsily shimmying his jeans off. He shrugged himself out of his vest and sat in the front passenger seat. Sasha's hands were shaking as she undid her belt and jacket. The air around her was already feeling thick, she crouched down and went to join August in the front of the Runner. She sank down onto his lap and he began kissing down her neck, his hands teasing underneath the hem of her shirt. Sasha lifted her tank top above her head and threw it to the side hooking it on the steering wheel. August pulled back and swept his eyes over her chest, looking up at her sheepishly.

"Did I make those? I'm sorry – I –"

"Shut up, please." Sasha panted and pressed his face against the middle of her breasts. He licked and kissed along every mark he had made on her the night before, making her moan sweetly against the top of his hair. She moved her lips back to his and started working at getting his shirt off.

"I guess I'm sorry about those, too." She teased him, pressing her fingers into the small purple bruises that decorated August's collarbone. He smirked,

"Don't be, Sasha." He began moving their hips in familiar slow circles and it wasn't long before they were both panting, their foreheads pressed together.

"Go in my vest front pocket." Sasha leaned down to the floor and pawed around in the darkness. Her fingers dipped into the front-right pocket and she produced a small foil package.

After removing what little clothing they had left and rolling the condom down his length, Sasha lowered herself slowly back onto his lap. They both moaned in unison as her thighs came into contact with his and he sat back more in the seat.

"Sasha…" He groaned. They found each other's mouths again and Sasha began to rock her hips back-and-forth against him. He bucked weakly up into her and she let out a small gasp as a wave of heat washed through her entire lower body. She felt him grin against her mouth and he continued to counter her movements. They broke their kiss and Sasha looked down at the connection between their bodies, gasping louder every time August managed to brush past that perfect spot within her.

"Taking you out here was a good idea," he panted against her chest, peppering kisses along her collarbone, "I don't need you waking up all of Hollow Point." Sasha giggled lightheartedly and swatted at his shoulder.

She proceeded to raise herself up off of his lap and slowly sink back down onto him. He kept his lips shut tight for the first pass, but once she picked up the speed and was bouncing up against his lap she was pretty sure he was making more noise than her. She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and dug her fingernails into his shoulders.

He started countering her movements in the same way as before, sliding against her easily. She lolled her head back and gripped his shoulders tighter.

When a particularly wanton moan escaped her lips, August's hips stilled. She tilted her head back down at him, frustration painted across her face.

He was running his hands down the side of her body and she couldn't help but giggle a little bit when he reached the area just above her hips. She tried to move back against him and he held her in place.

"What."

"You're doing all the work."

"It's fine." She let out an exasperated sigh and placed both of her hands on the side of his face.

"Really?"

"Duh, idiot." Her lips gently brushed against his and he moaned.

"That's not fair." He smirked at her. _What a goddamn tease._ She shrugged and placed her lips against his ear.

"Do your worst."

His mouth was hot on hers and he was driving himself into her slowly. He kept his hands on her hips, pushing her down against his lap when he up. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, breathing heavily against the side of his head.

"Please don't stop." Sasha shook against him, overcome with ecstasy.

"You got it, babe." He kissed along her collarbone, grunting against her skin.

Sasha heard something in her ear that was pressed against August's hair. _Fuck. Now?_

"Hey, August," she stuttered, "I think something is wrong."

He stopped and looked up at her, "What do you mean?" She tapped the side of her head and he shrugged, "Oh, okay?"

She pressed the answer button on her earpiece and cleared her throat.

"Hello?" Her voice cracked and she tried to answer again, "Hello…someone better be on fire."

"Nope. Just checking to make sure you're not dead." Fiona said brightly.

Sasha made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat, "I'm kind of busy at the moment."

"Whooooooaaaaaaaa…too much information." There was the disgusted sound again, this time Sasha tried to add some extra malice in her voice,

"Seriously. Is anyone dying or on fire?" She looked down and August and shook her head. He started inching her back down against his length and her mouth dropped open silently.

"Nope. And look I'm going to assume all that panting in the background is because you've been running from people trying to kill you and not, you know, _anything else_."

"I'm hanging," she had to cover her mouth again when August dragged his teeth across her collar bone, "up."

"Loveyoubye."

She rolled her eyes and August mumbled against her skin, "What was that?"

"Not worth my time. Sorry. I thought it was an emergency," she adjusted herself in his lap and kissed the top of his forehead, "though, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't try to fuck me while I'm on the phone."

He laughed and looked up at her, "Come on, they interrupted us."

"Right," she let him push her the rest of the way down and she rose up again, August's brows knitted together over tightly shut eyes, "now where were we?"


	9. Sleep

At some point between writhing against each other like a pair of skags in heat and holding each other on the hood of the Runner, something funny happened. Funny wasn't the right word. If Sasha were to describe it, she would probably have chosen words like 'earth-shattering' and 'horrific'.

After the sex, after the moaning, and after the weird things said in the heat of the moment, she kissed him. Not because it was going to lead into round two; Lord knew she was too tired for that and August looked about the same. She didn't kiss him because they were having sex, either. That had ended long after the sweat on her back began to evaporate. She just kissed him.

Maybe she hoped it would make her forget why she was with him in the first place, or maybe it would make him forgive her in the future for ever making him think she could be trusted. He must have felt her palpable desperation against his mouth, because he pulled back from her rather quick.

"Easy, Sash," he murmured against her feverish mouth, "I'm only one guy."

Sasha smiled nervously and moved back on his lap, "Sorry, August." She ducked back behind him to pull some clothes over her chilled skin.

Once he had joined her outside, she smiled half-heartedly and gestured to the horizon, "See, they're still there."

"What'd I tell you?" He sat down next to her on the hood of their vehicle and Sasha pulled her knees up to her chest. August released a large puff of air from his mouth and closed his eyes; he leaned back against one of the windows.

Sasha looked down at him in the pale blue glow of the late evening. A small smile played itself across his lips, replacing his usual resting scowl. He opened his eyes to see her staring at him and placed his hand on her wrist, gently tugging her closer to him. She rested her head on his chest, looking up at the night sky.

"Think I'll do another check on the perimeter in a couple seconds."

"Mmmhmm." Sasha mumbled sleepily, her eyelids felt like someone had strapped two cinderblocks to them. For some reason, having him out there made the desert seem a little less intimidating. August squeezed her right arm gently, pulling her a little closer to him. She adjusted her head against his chest and let her eyelids flutter closed.

"Don't go falling asleep on me, now." August teased and she groaned.

"We didn't really plan this out well."

"I wasn't planning on staying out here this long."

"Uh huh..." Sasha grinned.

"I can take us back to Hollow Point if you want."

"Mmmkay." Sasha thought any bed sounded better than the hood of a car. She rose off of his chest slowly and stretched her arms out to her sides. He got up, swinging his legs off the side of the hood and climbed back into the driver's seat.

Sasha sunk down into the still warm passenger seat and closed her eyes as the engine roared to life.

She awoke to the door opening next to her, August craned his neck in and she opened her eyes sleepily,

"Back already?" The light blush that came from the old bulbs in the alley made her eyes water and she rubbed at them with the back of her hands. He had his knapsack handle and vest balled up in his left hand and he was offering her the other one. She took it, her palms curling around the smooth leather of his gloves. He walked them back inside the bar and they turned a corner to walk upstairs.

Sasha fell out of her shoes and flopped down onto his mattress,

"Incoming." He fell next to her and she tried to roll out of the way.

"Ack!" She rolled onto her side at the last second, her back to him. He squeezed his arm between her neck and the pillow and threw his other one over her waist. She couldn't help but laugh when she got a better look at his hand and saw the tan lines.

"You never take those gloves off, do you?" She lifted one of her hands up to cradle his palm and he gave a quick, 'No' before resting his head behind her.

He pulled himself closer to her back and she let her eyes fall closed.


	10. Dirty Hands and Clean Guns

**A/N:** I usually write three to four chapters ahead of what has been posted here, it's just the posting I get behind on! I am so happy that you guys are enjoying this fic! I love waking up to all of your reviews and lovely comments. Those of you with tumblr accounts should definitely hit me up at wandererlila and we can talk about Borderlands/Tales from the Borderlands! Enjoy!

Sasha woke up in the attic of the Purple Skag the following morning. She rubbed her eyes and sat up on August's bed, peeking out from behind the privacy curtain.

August was cleaning his guns at the table on the far side of the room. Sasha stood up slowly and walked over to where he sat. He looked up when he heard her approaching.

"Morning, babe."

She sat down in the other chair and watched his hands working carefully. He had his signature revolver disassembled on the table.

"Need help?" She figured she could learn a thing or two. Felix and Fiona weren't too fond of guns, so Sasha gleaned whatever she could about guns wherever possible. Unfortunately, a majority of the people who dealt with guns on Pandora usually wanted to shoot you with them. Come to think of it, that number may have included the people selling the guns, too.

"Yeah," he picked through the bag at his feet for another rag, "actually, you might want to do yours, first."

"Sure." Sasha picked up her own gun, which had been sitting on the table from the night before.

August whistled once she had it disassembled, "You ever clean that thing?"

"I don't know much about guns, besides maybe shooting them. Didn't learn about much else..."

She tried to not look at him, worried her expression would reveal too much about the lies she was concocting in her head. Sasha kicked herself. She knew she'd slip up like this if she kept going.

"A lady who knows that little about her product is likely to get ripped off."

Sasha felt her hands clench tighter in her lap. "Caught me," Sasha put her hands up, "I inherited this business from my father."

"That's something you never told me." He crossed his arms over his chest. She could tell he wasn't exactly mad, maybe just confused. That wasn't the right word either, maybe he felt excluded. As if sleeping with him twice had somehow unlocked another part of her backstory. Not that Sasha could really feel offended. It wasn't like any of it was true.

"Yeah," she cast her eyes down, "it was a long time before I even knew what he was doing. He was so secretive. I was off on one of the Eden's when I got this call…"

"And?"

"And…He's in the ground and I'm trying to get his clients used to the idea that they're now buying guns from his daughter."

"But back with those guys a few days ago…"

"Look, I'm good at looking like I know what I'm doing," Sasha crossed her arms over her chest, mirroring his posture, "and that includes fighting."

"That's a good way to get yourself killed, Sasha."

She looked up from the table and he was looking at her worriedly, his arms had uncrossed and they were now resting on the table, "I'm fine." She waved her hand through the air dismissively.

"You won't be. You can't posture your way out of a fire-fight all the time. Let me help you-"

"I'm perfectly capable, like you said."

He rubbed his palm against his forehead leaving a dark streak of gunpowder against the skin.

"I don't want you to be in a situation you can't talk your way out of. I don't care if it's worked in the past. I can't know you're out there like that."

He wasn't going to give up, he was scared of something happening to her. He was willing to go as far as showing her how to shoot ( _better_ ) to make sure that didn't happen. Sasha welcomed it.

She sighed theatrically, "Alright. I could use some practice."

"Thank you."

Sasha leaned across the table and wiped his forehead clean. He leaned into her touch greedily and closed his eyes.

"Don't mention it, babe." She smiled at him warmly.

 **A/N #2:**...Because what's a Borderlands fic without a little gunplay? ;) Also, I have a hard time writing "I want to protect you because I like you" and having it not come out as "I want to protect you because I'm the man". I hope I didn't royally mess that up.


	11. Not a bad Shot

They set up somewhere out in the desert where August found an outcropping of rocks. He was setting up bottles and cans at various portions for her to shoot at. She watched him with her hands on her hips as he set out the last beer bottle.

"Are these all empty?" She teased.

"I made sure of that."

Sasha rolled her eyes and raised her, now freshly cleaned, gun.

"Tell me when!" She shouted at him and he hopped off the outcropping, making a dash to where she was standing. He gave her a nod and she fired at a can far to the left. A cloud of dust rose as the bullet glanced to the side and planted itself in the sand behind it.

"Shit." Sasha breathed and August stepped to her side. He raised his hand to her lower back and pushed her arms up higher. She turned her head to the side and he nodded at her. She pulled the trigger and another cloud of dust stirred up around the can.

"Don't pull the trigger." He was adjusting her elbows, now.

"What? Isn't that what everyone says?"

"It's more like squeezing." He put his hands on her hips and turned them forward. He kept them there and butterflies rose in Sasha's stomach.

"You seem to be doing a fair amount of that."

He groaned from behind her and moved his hands away. She tried again, this time the bullet hit the top of the can and sent it flying off of the rocks.

"Nice job, babe. Give it another go." He placed his hand on the small of her back again, this time letting his finger pads graze over her spine. Goosebumps rose along her skin and she felt more heat stirring in her belly. She aimed at one of the bottles on top of the outcropping and hit it dead on. Glass rained down onto the lower rocks and Sasha smiled excitedly. She kept going, hitting every can and bottle with one or two shots.

"How was that?" The crack of the gunshots still fresh in her ears, her heart beating slightly faster than normal from the adrenaline. She lowered her gun and turned her head to look at August out of the corner of her eye. Although he had stopped making small adjustments several broken bottles ago, his hands hand found their way to the top of her jeans. He had his hands resting on her hips and was nodding at her approvingly.

"You're a natural, babe. Sure you haven't done this before?"

"Thanks, a bit. I'm better with SMGs." She put her hands over his.

"Really?" He shook his head, still smiling.

"What?"

"Spray and pray Sash. That's you."

"Hey! It works! And how do you know I wasn't just tricking you into showing me how to shoot so you'd have to get all touchy-feely with me?" She winked at him and pressed her back against his chest firmly. A low laughed rumbled from his chest and he ran his hands up her sides, grinding his body against hers. His lips grazed her outer ear,

"You don't have to trick me into anything babe."

Her heart sank, her smile cascaded off of her face. Sasha stilled her body as tiny frozen icicles pierced her stomach. August kept running his hands over her hips and she tried to pry herself from his grip. How could she continually forget why they were together in the first place? His touch became scorching flames licking across her skin, his kisses were tinted with slag. She stumbled out of his clutches, turning around and smoothing her hair back down. His mouth was hanging half open, and she tried her best to avoid his gaze.

"Did I-?" He reached his hand out to her and she waved it away.

"No. I'm sorry."

"Are you okay? Something bothering you?"

 _Everything._ "Nothing." Sasha straightened up and tried to step closer to August. He kept his hands at his sides, studying her face carefully.

"Do you want to go?"

"Yeah."

 **A/N:** Ahhahhh I've been waiting to write this chapter! (That was unnecessary). Thanks for tuning in!


	12. Breakdown

**A/N:** To that anonymous reviewer who told me about that hand-to-hand combat idea, it has not fallen on deaf ears and I like the way you think. ;) A great big hello to those friends old and new who are joining us for Chapter 12 of what I have saved on my laptop as "Whoops Sasha likes August". Please enjoy!

The drive back to Hollow Point was quiet. Sasha didn't know what to say and August was focusing on the road ahead. She reached across the expanse between their seats and rested her hand on his forearm. He glanced over to her briefly, his scowl faltering.

"Look. I don't know what that was about, you don't have to say anything. I just need to know you're going to be okay."

"Yes."

His shoulders dropped, and he kept his eyes on the road, "Alright." Sasha mindlessly traced slow circles against his arm for the rest of the ride.

Returning to the Purple Skag that evening was awkward to say the least. Sasha's stomach had uncoiled halfway through the drive while she coaxed the icy fingers of guilt out of her chest. She didn't want to say anything. It wasn't worth it to confuse him even more.

It wasn't time to open yet when they returned, but August had made a beeline for the bar as soon as they crossed the threshold. He kept his back to the seating area, his shoulders noticeably tense. Sasha moved to grab a rag from behind him and he stepped out of her way abruptly. She made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat and he snapped around. She gave him a warning expression and his face softened, his mouth was still pressed into a hard line.

"Just leave it. I'm okay." She reassured him and he set down his glass he had been polishing for at least the past few minutes.

"You just did a complete 180 on me, babe. How can I leave it?"

She pulled at the rag in her hands nervously, calculating her words, "I'm just under a lot of stress right now."

"Sasha."

"Don't do that, August. You know what I do. It's just—"

"I actually don't." He crossed his arms. Her mouth dropped open for a second and she stepped closer to him, her hands were pressed firmly to her hips. She looked up at him, her words came out like a snarl.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He looked at her for a second, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"I'm sorry." He sighed, his arms falling.

"Let's not fight. I don't want to fight with you right now," she breathed in deeply, trying to clear her own head, "I'm trying to protect you."

"Me." He said sarcastically, forgetting to form his response into a question.

"Yes," she felt her blood boiling underneath her skin, "and if that's so hard to believe…" Sasha didn't want to finish her train of thought. Then, she had seen the perfect chance to take their con to the next level, but August was standing in front of her looking down into her face with thousands of questions gathering into his hard blue eyes. The part about protecting him wasn't a lie; however, he understood it differently than she meant it. _I'm protecting you from me. I don't know why, but I am protecting you from the part of me that will hurt you._

Sasha licked her lips nervously and looped her arms around his neck, bringing his face closer to hers in one fluid motion. His eyes softened and she brought herself up onto her toes slightly.

"…I don't think you know me at all."

Sasha breathed this confession across his worry-worn features and finally brought his mouth to meet hers. His lips were still against her, but they were warm and at the very least weren't scowling anymore. She nudged her mouth against his, slowly tilting her head to the side. He relaxed his face and brought his arms around her waist. Sasha's chest ached when he began to kiss her back, moving his lips against hers sweetly. She allowed herself to be lifted onto the counter and he stood between her legs. One of her hands lifted itself up to his angular jaw. He leaned more into her touch and she welcomed it. August was warm, he was kind to her, and she was falling hard against his strong chest. She felt drunk in his presence then. It was a scary power she had over him, but it was not without its disadvantages. The stirring in her heart being one of them. His hand left her waist and he brushed one of his finger pads against her cheek. It took her a moment to realize that she had begun to cry. They kept a slow rhythm with each other, Sasha's façade falling away slowly with every kiss. Her lies were silently painted against his lips. She would have pulled away a countless number of times, but every one of his kisses seemed to whisper adoration against her lips, forgiving every single one of her transgressions. Every choked sob against his mouth only brought him in closer to her, seeking to repair a heart he didn't know was shattering.

He pulled away to offer her a rag for her wet cheeks. Sasha kept her eyes closed. They pressed their foreheads against each other's and Sasha moved her hand to his chin. He grabbed her hand gently in his and pressed a tender kiss to every one of her finger tips. She kept the rag clenched tightly in her other hand, refusing to acknowledge the hot tears streaming down her face.

She leaned into his chest, August hesitantly wrapped his arms around her.

"Sasha," he spoke softly against her hair, "are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yes," she sniffed and leaned back out of his embrace, "yes I will be."

She wiped the back of her hand across her cheeks, forgetting about the rag still balled up in her fist. Finally looking into his face made her heart leap into her throat. He was looking down at her, giving her a small comforting smile.

"I have to admit, this is not the first time someone has cried on my bar."

Sasha let a choked laugh escape her throat.

"I'm sorry. This is probably not fun for you."

"It's okay. Do you have that all out of your system? Or?"

"Yes," Sasha watched him gingerly pull away and let his eyes sweep over her, as if he were checking to make sure she was all still there, "I'm done."

His shoulders relaxed.

"Do you mind if I stay here tonight?" She asked softly.

"Not at all, babe."

She smiled and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.


	13. Scar Tissue

**A/N:** Sleepy chapter here, because I love me some tired dorks. It's pretty easy to write since I do a lot of my writing late at night. I have a lot of personal experience to draw from. Also, tropes are fun to write, so sue me! I'm really enjoying everyone giving me such good ideas for things to incorporate into later parts of this fic, so please do not be afraid to share any headcanons! I love them!

Sasha stirred gently in her sleep when August joined her in bed that night. She rolled over to face him, half-asleep and he smiled nervously.

"Didn't mean to wake you." His hoarse whisper tickled across her forehead and she moved in closer to his chest. She tucked her hands up against the side of her face and he pulled her the rest of the way towards him. He ran his hand over her back rhythmically.

He wasn't wearing his shirt, and she ran her fingertips past a small pink scar on his chest. In turned out to not be the only one. She saw many others nearby of many different shapes and sizes. One in particular looked relatively old, and she questioned why she hadn't seen any of them before. Three tracks extended from the top of his right shoulder to halfway down his stomach. It was shallow and lighter than the rest of his skin.

"I hate skags." Sasha mumbled incoherently. Her hands were lightly tracing over his chest.

He looked down at her, tucked between his arms, "The chubby ones are kind of cute."

"Sure," she giggled, "one of those give you this?" She ran her hand along the angry lines puckered on his skin.

"It was one of the big ones," he moved her hand to the side, her fingers brushing over a circular mark near his hip, "Adult skag. Didn't like me very much."

"Clearly," she mumbled, "how did you end up in that crossfire?"

"You know where we live, right?" He chuckled.

"You have a point." She sighed. The gentle strokes of his hand along her back were making her eyelids heavy. She timed her breaths with each pass.

"Big bastard had friends. We had to fight our way out of there."

"We?"

"My ma and I. A smaller one took a swipe at her face. When I wasn't looking, big guy got me right across the chest." August mimicked a swiping motion with a flick of his free hand.

"So you both made it out?" Sasha raised her eyebrows, "I'm impressed."

"Yeah," August shifted against the sheets, and his eyes closed, "she's one tough bitch."

Sasha stifled a giggle, "Do you think I'll ever meet her?"

"I'd never put you through that." He scoffed.

She laughed again, changing the subject, "How was business tonight?"

"Had to throw a few guys out who overstayed their welcome. I'll tell you more about it tomorrow." Sasha was probably not going to remember that.

"Awww, why not now?" She whined.

"Because it's almost morning, Sasha," he chuckled at her silly expression and drooping eyelids, "and I want to sleep."

"I bet I could keep you up." She propositioned, running her hand down his chest clumsily.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "Tell you what. If you're still awake in thirty-seconds, I might take you up on that offer."

"You," Sasha mumbled, "are in for a surprise."

She fell asleep.


	14. Breathe Easy

Sasha woke up before August that morning. She rolled onto her back and rubbed her eyes in the muted light of the attic. She had no idea what time it was, and she hadn't heard from Fiona in a while. She shrugged it off and rolled back over to face August, whose back was to her.

There was something peaceful about watching someone sleep. It was why Sasha never lived alone. In their waking hours, people were always who the world told them to be, but sleep took them away from judgement. Fiona always talked in her sleep, and it was something Sasha teased her about relentlessly. It rarely made sense, but it was still fun to recite her psycho-babble back to her in the morning. She'd sleepily roll over on her cot and Sasha would be waiting with breakfast and a smug look on her face. Sasha smiled, thinking about Fiona's concerned expression when she asked her who the 'alien head man' was and why he wanted to ride her 'skag boat'. Felix rarely slept, and when he did it was usually upright. He had this hideous chair that he would collapse in after a long day of tinkering with any number of gadgets. Sasha would try to offer him her cot, but he politely declined every time. She needed her beauty rest, or something. Felix was a man made of excuses. She stifled a giggle as she pictured the look he'd have on his face when she would tell him about her gun training. _Dangerous my_ ass. She thought to herself. _It wasn't like I was going to shoot myself or anything._

That was one thing she liked about August, he didn't hold her back from anything. There was being protective and then there was just being goddamn insufferable. Training her how to protect herself was going to be millions of times more effective than sheltering her. There were a lot of things to like about August when she really thought about it. He was complex. He calculated. He looked really good holding a gun.

Her eyes swept over his noticeably unmarked back. If it weren't for a few sunspots on his shoulders, she would have said it was damn near perfect. She felt a chill and inched herself closer to him, breathing in his comforting musk. A mixture of desert sand and gunpowder floated through her nostrils and she sighed pleasantly against his skin. Her brain worked in mysterious ways with scents. She thought she had lived in Hollow Point for so long that her nose had become blind to how terrible a city in a cave could smell, but that was of course until she began regularly leaving. Upon returning, it would take her at least a few hours to adjust to the stale earth, smoke, and whatever else was floating through the air. That was why she liked returning to Felix's when she would come back from trips with Fiona. Their hideaway smelled like old books and stale coffee tinged like counterfeit bill paper and fried eggs. It was a scent that made her think she was protected, and that she could let her guard down and be herself. Home smelled 'safe', if she were to make the comparison. Strangely enough, new smells had been making her feel the same way. Home started to smell like the desert sun and cheap hair products.

She was glad August had taught her how to clean her gun. The damn thing would always jam up on her at the worst times, but it never crossed her mind that it was because of maintenance. Everyone Pandoran was always so eager to talk about how awesome this scope was or how to modify this barrel, but no one ever mentioned cleaning the damn things. She would always curse the 'stupid piece of garbage' and jam it into her holster, opting to either run away or "borrow" someone else's firearm. Her mind wandered to the afternoon before. She wondered if she remembered to clean her gun after shooting practice with August. Between her frenzied mind and frayed nerves, she figured it was better safe than sorry to double check.

She stepped onto the floor of the attic carefully, her footfalls deliberate to prevent the floorboards from creaking. August's gun bag was sitting next to a crate on the other side of the privacy curtain. She unzipped it and rifled through its contents carefully. After she found what she needed, she crossed the room quietly to begin working at the table.

August must have been up here while she was still sleeping, because he moved her gun to the other side of the table. Her holster was hanging off of a chair behind the table. A small leather-bound book was now in its place. The cover was worn and its clasp had broken. Assuming it was some kind of ledger, she peeled back the front cover curiously. It turned out to be his sketchbook. Many pages were missing, as they were presumably the ones that decorated the wall beside her. Part of her felt a little guilty for snooping like this, but she rationalized that a book of drawings wasn't exactly comparable to a diary. She sat down at the table and thumbed through different drawings of skags and several quick notes that made little sense out of context. It wasn't until she neared the end of the book that the sketches looked newer. Her thumb flicked across the top of a page and she froze. Her hand flew up to her mouth and she felt her stomach turn over.

It was the first person Sasha had seen in his entire sketchbook.

And that person was her.

When August rolled over and mumbled in his sleep, Sasha dropped the book. She heard him sit up.

"Sasha?"

She bent down and fumbled around under the table, "Yeah, babe?" Her cheeks were hot, she was embarrassed he'd caught her going through his things.

"What are you doing up?" He leaned out from behind the curtain, and his eyes were barely open. His hair was splayed against one side of his head in stark contrast to how he usually kept it. She actually really liked his hair down, it did something to make him seem 'softer'. He leaned out further and Sasha spun her head back around to look under the table. Sure his hair was cute, a word she cursed herself for even associating with him, but when she caught a glimpse of him sitting there in the dull light of the attic she felt a peculiar pull towards him. She couldn't place it. It was a longing to go join him back in bed, and a longing just to be held by him. There was nothing primal about her desire as there had been in the past, she just wanted to be with him. His scars, his body, his _fucking stupid_ hair, how he treated her, everything about him crossed her mind too often lately. She sighed audibly, disappointed in herself. She needed time to process what she had just found. She needed time to rationalize that she hadn't been happy seeing her likeness staring at her from that soft white page.

"Just moving some stuff, hon. I'm sorry!"

"Okay. Are you coming back to bed?" Sasha dropped her head between her shoulders and shook her head. It was such a simple question, but it meant so much to her, then.

"I'm looking for something…" She said distractedly. Truthfully, the journal hadn't fallen under the table that far. Her hands would paw at it occasionally, acting like it was just out of her reach every time. She was embarrassed that she had to use the table and chairs to hide from him.

"Found it!" She rose, a forced smile on her face.

"Hmmm…good," August mumbled, and rubbed a hand across his eyes, "are you going somewhere?"

"Noooo..." She placed the journal back on the table. Her feet moved her back to where August was sitting and he laid back down. She fell next to him and he pulled her back close to his chest.

"Sorry if I keep a weird schedule, Sash."

"It's okay, babe. You can go back to sleep now." She placed one of her hands over his and he squeezed her arm. He mumbled something incoherently into her neck and kissed her shoulder. She let herself be pulled tighter into his arms. Her heart felt heavy.

Seeing herself from his eyes had been interesting to say the least. She was smiling in his sketch, but with no teeth. Despite all of that, her grin still seemed to reach her eyes, which he had even taken the time to color in green. She couldn't help but feel flattered, but she thought that wasn't the right word. 'Flattered' was how she felt when her other targets had brought her flowers or complimented her looks. Keeping them at a safe distance turned every sweet word into flattery, easily devalued by a downward glance or shy smile.

With August, she felt adored. It was the kind of adoration that could silence every question in her addled brain. The way he held her and cared for her, it was too much. He was too good. She hated to think about it, but this was the first serious relationship she'd been able to have. That's not to say she hadn't tried to maintain relationships, but there was too much at stake when she got involved with someone. Her line of work left her avoiding any kind of romantic investment. Beyond that, she knew that Fiona would always be the most important person in her life. She had to be. No one man could understand her obligation to the only real family she had left. She thought to call Fiona and check on the progress of the key they needed, but that brought her head and heart sinking down into reality again.

August was completely clueless. It was only Sasha who was left floundering in her own emotions, grasping for opportunities to come to her senses. Her happiness came with an expiration date, one that she would decide on with Felix and Fiona.

She needed to make this last as long as possible.

 **A/N:** This is the last of the pre-made chapters I have, so I'm going to start posting every other day. I hope that doesn't make any of you lose interest! I really appreciate every one of you! Thank you for tuning in and for all of the wonderful reviews!


	15. Gifts and Grifters

Sasha drifted in and out of sleep for most of the morning. It was a quiet morning for her, and that was probably the best she had slept in a long time. The attic was still, outside of August's breathing over her shoulder. When she would wake up from dozing, she'd think about Fiona and Felix. Why hadn't they contacted her? She she would seek them out. A break from acting might give her some inspiration. Mainly, she kind of just missed her sister.

When August finally stirred after a couple of hours, he released his arms from around her.

"Morning." He groaned as he stretched his arms above his head.

"Hey," she turned rolled over to face him, "I think I'm going to see my friend today."

"Alright." He sat up, running his fingers through his hair. Sasha rolled off of the bed so he could get up. As he passed her, she felt him plant a kiss on her shoulder. He called out to her from the other side of the privacy shield.

"Wanna show you something before you go. I'd been thinking of selling it, but it seems right up your alley."

She walked over to him to and he rifled through a bag on one of his chairs. When he produced a storage deck, she couldn't help but feel a little more than excited. He handed it to her and she selected the only thing inside.

"Wow. I can have this?" She breathed and held the weapon in her hands. August nodded and her eyes lit up.

 _A freaking Maliwan SMG!_ Sasha felt like it was Mercenaries Day. She wanted to go back out into the desert and fire at cans again. She just wanted to see what it could do. Her face was painted with a huge smile, and August watched her, nearly mimicking her excitement.

"Thank you, August!" She closed the storage deck and went up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek.

"I'm glad you like it," His ears went slightly red, "and before you ask, no I didn't buy it. I've had it for a while and when you mentioned that you liked SMGs, I thought –"

Sasha started laughing at his jumbled words, "Don't give gifts often, do you?"

"I'm not a very generous man when I can help it."

"Then I feel special." Sasha looped her arms around his neck and placed a quick kiss on his lips. When she pulled away he quickly remarked,

"You are." He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Awww…" she teased, and he rolled his eyes. He was clearly trying to ignore the red that had still not left his ears. Sasha ran her hand through his messy hair.

"You know, I kind of like this look for you."

August scoffed, "Not really my style."

It took a moment of being in August's arms in the early morning for Sasha to realize what she had been feeling. The little butterflies in her chest, and the warmth that kissed her face - She was happy. It was probably the sweet new SMG she had clipped to her belt, but maybe part of it was the man who had given her the gun. It could be the man who was holding her against his chest, looking at her like she was the most precious person in the world to him in that moment. It could also be the man she had sitting in the palm of her hand, who she was likely looking at in the same way.

August was the first to break the silence, "I like this look for you, too."

"Babe, this how I always look." She chided.

"Exactly."

Sasha smiled and dropped her arms back down to her side. It was probably time to see Fiona before she and August spent the whole afternoon staring at each other like a couple of love-sick idiots – not that she would have cared all that much. She started gathering up her extra clothes she had discarded before falling asleep last night.

"It doesn't look good to leave right after you gave me something, but my friend is expecting me so…"

"No, it's fine. I've got some business things today. Will you be back tonight?" He dropped his arms too and walked over to his dresser. He grabbed a shirt and threw it on over his head before walking back over to her.

"Yes!" She responded a little too brightly.

"Good. See you around." He stooped down to kiss her on the cheek and she started down the steps.

The journey back to Felixes gave Sasha a fair amount of time to think. She kept the storage deck clipped to the front of her leg, feeling it collide with her thigh after every step. August put so much thought into what he had chosen to give her, it was _sweet_. It was thoughtful, like a gift you'd give someone you truly cared about. It made Sasha feel special. Part of her wanted to run home with the SMG in her arms and show Fiona this cool thing that her 'boyfriend' gave to her. Or that's what she would have done if the circumstances were different. She wasn't embarrassed about her involvement with August, but she hated to be reminded that it was artificial. She knew it felt real to him, and some parts of it were starting to feel real to her, too. She sighed heavily and continued walking.

The cadence of her steps kept the storage deck beating against her leg, driving home a constant ugly reminder:

Swing. _You._

 _Swing. Are._

Swing. _Using._

Swing. _Him._

She couldn't have rejected it, no matter how guilty it made her feel. It was a shitty situation, but she had to remember that this deal was for her survival. Whatever time she was wasting forgetting that August was a mark was time her family couldn't spare. Felix and Fiona said they could wait for the nine-million dollars this deal was estimated at, but Sasha wasn't stupid. She knew that Fiona would have to start doing smaller cons on the side, risking losing her part in this one if anyone recognized her.

When she stepped into Felixes, it really struck her how long she had been away. She could actually pick out the different scents that hung in the air: Felixes coffee, Fiona's terrible cooking, wet paint and fried electronics. It was good to see her family again, but suddenly she wasn't so sure they felt the same way. When the door creaked shut behind her, Sasha saw Felix and Fiona standing over a case on the table. _So much for a greeting_. She sighed and walked over to their corner of the room.

"It's nice to see you all, too," She remarked and Fiona looked up, smiling awkwardly, "what happened to checking in on me?"

"You seem to be handling yourself quite well, we thought it best to not interfere." Felix sounded annoyed, his hands fiddling with wires and switches inside of the case. Sasha wished she could say that it would be to their benefit to interfere, but that wouldn't make them feel better about allowing her to take care of this by herself. She moved over his shoulder and took a look inside.

It certainly looked like something, but it wasn't even close to being a Vault key. Then again, she hadn't seen many of them to begin with, so it was possible they all looked like piles of garbage soldered together. She doubted it.

"So, how is it going with our guy?" Fiona seemed to be the most relaxed of the three. Granted she wasn't going to be involved in the con until much later.

"August," Fiona rolled her eyes and Sasha crossed her arms over her chest, "I think I need more time." She tried to ignore the flush that was probably in her cheeks when Fiona eyed her curiously.

"He doesn't trust you yet? I thought –"

"Look, being chummy in a bar is a lot different than whatever you two want me to do. I need more time."

"Chummy isn't the word I'd use," Fiona winked and Sasha groaned, "But if you need more time, the key isn't even close to being done." Sasha supposed that was a relief. From where she was standing, August trusted her enough to let his guard down, but she was unsure if he'd let her near his 'business'.

"She's right. Take your time." Felix affirmed. He dropped his tool and leaned back in his seat.

"Got it," Sasha looked at her sister momentarily, "Fiona?"

"Yeah?"

 _I don't want to do this. I know I have to do this, but I don't want to._ Sasha twisted her face up into a fake grin.

"After everything, do you think I have to give this back?" Sasha pulled out her storage deck and selected the weapon August had given her before. Fiona's eyebrows raised and her mouth pulled into a tight smile.

"Do you ever?"

Sometime that afternoon after Felix had left, mumbling something about needing more paint, Sasha and Fiona were alone eating lunch together.

"I'm wondering why he hasn't started inviting you." Fiona mused.

"I haven't really asked," Sasha sighed, "I'm trying to figure out how."

"Can't you just improvise? I mean, it's not that hard to say 'take me with you'." Fiona said around a rather large bite of her sandwich.

"You're right," Sasha ripped off a piece of crust and popped it into her mouth, "It's 'take your girlfriend who is conning you out of millions of dollars' day!" Fiona laughed uncomfortably, noting how Sasha's face fell after the remark.

"Look, my job is to read people," She began, setting down her sandwich, "and I know you hate when I do this, but is everything okay?"

"Yeah."

"Sasha…" Fiona's eyes narrowed, "We lie to people for a living, don't lie to me."

"I just feel…I don't know," Sasha let out a small sigh, "guilty?"

One corner of Fiona's mouth twitched up. Sasha could sense the tease that was coming, "Awww, that's really cute! You like him!" She put a hilarious lilt in her voice and Sasha couldn't help but snort.

"Okay, don't put it like that." She felt her face getting hot.

"Awww, now you're blushing."

"I am not!" Sasha crossed her arms over her chest and Fiona giggled.

"Sure, you can like him. That helps, I guess?" Fiona shrugged, obviously indifferent about the whole situation, "but you know what else would help? Nine-million dollars."

Sasha grimaced. Of course she knew it was only a matter of time before Fiona called her out. She had to admit, she was getting pretty attached to him, and that was even more dangerous than any vague threats from her sister.

"I understand." Sasha said flatly.

"Hey, don't get like that. I mean don't think you're going to be with this guy forever, because the second we get out of town with his money, he's going to want nothing more than to put a bullet in your back."


	16. Money

**A/N:** I had a convention this weekend so I had a lot of time to write. Thanksgiving is rolling around, which means I'll get a break from University, which means I'll have more time to write (or play Fallout 4). Please enjoy! :)

Sasha supposed she was grateful that she had more time. She wasn't going to deny that there were some parts of her relationship with August that she would miss when it was over. This afternoon was a testament to that. Beyond the new gun she now had on her hip, she liked the feeling of his bare arms wrapping around her in the attic. It had been a feeling that transcended physical attraction.

Of course the physical aspects of their relationship weren't too bad either. She smirked.

Naturally, Fiona's comment had bothered her. Part of her wished to remain optimistic, believing that he could forgive her once he understood the reason _why_. It didn't have to be him, and that was probably something she wouldn't blame him for holding against her. When this was all over, some part of Sasha wanted to think that he could understand. Nine million dollars was a lot of money, and there were only a certain number of zeroes you could see before the money was the only thing that mattered. Everyone knew that, especially August. He had to.

After they had finished eating, Sasha and Fiona were relaxing on a cot against the wall. Sasha had her head propped up on her elbow and her legs tucked up. Fiona was occupying the empty space beside her sister, her head propped up against the wall.

"What are you going to do with your money when this is all over?"

"Guns. A lot of guns." Sasha nodded and Fiona rolled her eyes.

"Okay, and what about the other 2.5 million dollars?"

"How much do you think it costs to leave Pandora?" She rolled over on her back and knitted her fingers over her stomach.

"A lot," Fiona looked at her sister's concerned expression, "but how about we get out of Hollow Point first?"

Sasha shook her head, "No, I'm going to blast right through these rocks. Get out of this cave and off of this planet in one go." She reached her hand toward the sky dreamily.

"Someone's ambitious," Sasha narrowed her eyes at her sister, curious if she had missed the point of this exercise, "where do you want to go?"

Sasha put her hand back down and breathed in deeply, "Away, another planet." She trailed off.

"What do you think Pandora looks like from up there?" Fiona looked up at the blank ceiling of their home with Sasha. Both affixed on the chipped paint, a smattering of constellations against the galaxy of yellowing wallpaper.

Sasha frowned, remembering the last time she was asked almost the exact same question.

"Small?"

Fiona chuckled, "You're not wrong, Sash." She looked back down at her sister's scowl.

Sasha floated her eyes away from the ceiling and met her sister's eyes, she giggled at her own distracted answer.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to be sarcastic."

"I thought it was funny."

"And in that moment, I was the best comedian on all of Pandora…" She smirked at Fiona and she put her hand on her knee. Sasha sighed when their giggles had stopped echoing off of the old walls of their home.

"I should probably head back," she swung her legs onto the floor, "August is expecting me soon."

"Who am I to keep you from your boyfriend?" Fiona drawled and stood up from the cot. Sasha made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat when Fiona put on a smarmy grin.

"Fi."

"Okay, I'm sorry – wait, no I'm not. However, I am sorry for one thing."

"And that is?" Sasha felt the atmosphere shift along with Fiona's expression.

"I haven't met the guy, but it seems like you…like him? And I'm sorry that you have to do this, especially by yourself."

 _That was rare._ Sasha thought to herself.

Sasha's breath caught in her throat, "Look, I'm not going to say you're right, but thank you." She stepped forward and Fiona wrapped her arms around her gently.

"I just hope you know how badly we need this." Fiona mumbled next to Sasha's ear. Her chest was feeling heavier. Fiona was right in both cases.

"I know Fi." Sasha squeezed her sister once more before stepping back and offering a reassuring smile.

"Good, now go knock him dead." Sasha's smile pressed into a smirk and she nodded.

"Got it."

"And hey," Sasha turned around at Fiona's interruption, "I'm sure you can find how to make the best of your current arrangement." Her elbow jabbed into her sister's side and Sasha snorted.

"Oh my god. Stop."

Fiona laughed, proud of herself.

"Well, I'll see you again soon."

"See you, Sasha."

The door closed behind her and Sasha straightened up. She turned the corner and walked in the direction of the Purple Skag.


	17. (Hollow) Point Blank

When Sasha stepped inside of the Purple Skag that night, August was nowhere to be found. She walked over to the base of the stairs and called up into the faded orange glow drifting down from the attic.

"Hey, August?"

A large hand clapped onto her shoulder and spun her around. She reached for her gun, but another hand knocked it out of her grip.

"Easy there, pretty lady. What d'ya think yer—" He dropped his hands when Sasha's gaze turned to ice. She twisted out of Tector's grip with one swift jerk of her shoulders.

"Tector, really?" Sasha groaned and stooped to pick up her gun. She turned it over, checking for any damage. When she looked up, the hulking man was avoiding her eyes sheepishly.

"Sorry, Sasha, I thought ya was someone else." Sasha was trying to imagine how she had missed Tector when she walked in. It wasn't like he was exactly stealthy.

"It's okay."

August came down the stairs. Of course he had fixed his hair since Sasha had left. He smiled when he saw her standing beside Tector and walked over to kiss her on the cheek. Tector was still looking at the ground.

"What's gotten into him?" August nodded to Tector.

"She jus' came in here so quietly, boss an' I thought she was gonna – I'm gonna git outta here, sorry Sasha."

Tector turned around and Sasha whispered to August.

"He thought I was someone else. I'm okay."

August pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply.

"Idiot."

Sasha shrugged and put her gun away.

"How many other women do you have coming around here?" She took a seat on the stairs.

August laughed, "Not many."

The door swung shut behind Tector.

"Your day went well, I take it. I don't see too much carnage." August sat down next to her on the stairs and threw his arm around her.

"Yeah," there was a long pause, "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Okay…" Sasha looked at him cautiously.

"You're smart, and I really like that about you," He turned his face more towards her, "and you're good in a fight, no matter how much you try to deny it."

"This doesn't sound like a question." Sasha was smiling, she was enjoying the praise regardless of how much he was beating around the bush.

"I'm getting there," he groaned, "the point is - and I don't normally like to do this - but I have this feeling you would be great at helping me with my business."

"So, I'd be a good waitress?" Sasha teased.

"No, I think you'd be a good asset when I meet with people. I don't exactly mean asset... more like 'partner'?"

"Don't they normally say to not mix business with pleasure?"

"Fuck them," August laughed at his own joke, "but I mean, it's always up to you, babe."

Sasha took a painfully long amount of time to respond, taking care to not seem too eager. She turned to him and nodded.

"Of course, August." She leaned her head into his chest.

That was the end of it, as far as Sasha could tell. From that point on, she never left August's side. She was actually very surprised he neglected to ask about her friend or even her own business. Sasha had excuses ready, but they were never needed.

She'd act as crowd control when a nervous client brought friends, or she would manage the Purple Skag on nights when August had to meet with someone during business hours. Her favorite arrangements were those done with especially unpredictable clients. For those, she would sit in with August. She'd act as a second pair of eyes to know when August was getting ripped off, and August trusted her instincts.

After long nights of meeting with people or managing the Skag, they'd clean their weapons and close the bar for the night. Sometimes August would fall asleep long before Sasha got out of the shower, and sometimes they would stay up into the early morning hours with each other. Other times, Sasha would fall asleep on his chest, eyelids heavy from a grueling day of dealing with too many ignorant people to count. His hand would run up and down her back and she'd listen to his breaths become deeper as they both fell asleep.

This pattern continued between the pair until one particularly strange afternoon. Sasha awoke to August speaking with another client on his earpiece. She crawled onto the side of the bed, swinging her legs over the edge and stretching her arms above her head. His shirt she was wearing, which was just a little too large for her, reached just above the tops of her thighs and came back to rest lower on her legs when she returned her arms too her sides.

She placed her feet on the hard wood of the attic floor and padded over to where he was standing. When he hung up, she mumbled,

"Morning, August."

He smiled at her and kissed the top of her head.

"Hey, babe."

"What was that about?"

"I've got a guy coming in today," August turned around to his dresser and pulled a shirt from one of the drawers, "he's pretty volatile. We will be opening later, after he leaves."

Sasha nodded. She couldn't help the small tingling sensation in her chest at the idea of the unpredictability of their afternoon. She tried not to be a glutton for punishment, but it was actually pretty thrilling when things didn't go according to plan. Intimidating clients was August's specialty, and he'd do it with this timbre in his voice that sent shivers down Sasha's spine. Sometimes he would sit back and nod approvingly as Sasha made a man nearly twice her size shake in his boots with a well-timed look and a few harsh words. She hoped she would get to use _that voice_ \- the voice that would have August's hands all over her the second they were alone.

Later in the evening, the man, who August would introduce as Rusty, strolled through the door of the Purple Skag. He looked like the personification of garbage and his manner of speech was rubbing Sasha in all of the wrong ways. He spoke with the thick throaty voice of a chain smoker and his musk reaffirmed Sasha's assumption. She wanted to tell August to send him back out the door the second it shut behind him. This wasn't going to be good.

Once they sat down, Rusty whistled from his beardy maw.

"Didn't realize it was 'bring yer main squeeze to work' day, August. Where'dya find this one?"

August's eye twitched and he shook his head, "Do you like having a jaw to say stupid shit with?"

"Okay, that came out wrong," Rusty backtracked and turned to face Sasha, "what I meant to say is: what's a pretty gal like yourself doing with ol' August here?" August's eyes narrowed and his brows knitted together.

"Oh you know me, just a pretty face here to distract all the boys." Sasha mused, admittedly only adding a head tilt for her own enjoyment.

"She gettin' smart with me?" Rusty scowled and August interjected.

"Oh don't worry, you wouldn't know much about that, anyway." August cocked an eyebrow and Rusty's face went red.

"You listen here—"

"No, you listen! We're doing what we are gonna do and you're gonna leave. Quit fucking around!" August's fists were clenched under the table, and Sasha's shoulders tensed. She let her hand fall by her side where she had her Maliwan stashed.

"Alright, I s'pose that's fair." Rusty glanced at Sasha out of the side of his face and she felt an uneasy chill creep into her belly.

"Thank you." August unclenched his fists and brushed one past Sasha's knee. She kept her eyes on Rusty's hand that was under the table.

Sasha flinched when Rusty drew his hand out and threw a stack of money on the table. August eyed the bills.

"You're short."

"I was hoping we could work something out."

"That ain't something you bring up on the day of, pal." August was losing patience.

"I don't think you have much of a choice…" Rusty moved his other hand out from under the table and reached down to his boot. Sasha's hand tightened on the grip of her gun. August moved his chair out from the table when Rusty produced a short Bowie knife from his ankle.

"…Cause I can think of lotsa things to carve into your pretty lady-friend's fa—AGH!"

Before Sasha could even react, August snapped up from his seat and grabbed the back of Rusty's neck. His face was cold as ice, and he forced the man's head against the table. Whether it was from the shock or the collision, Rusty's knife went clattering to the ground and Sasha kicked it against the wall.

"What was that, asshole?" August grinned devilishly and forced his palm harder against the man's neck. He kept the side of Rusty's face pressed into the disheveled pile of bills.

"Fagh—yew." The bearded man spat out of the side of his mouth. His other arm went to the back of his pants and he produced a snub-nosed pistol. Sasha rose from her seat as he was cocking back to fire. She acted as best as she could, forcing his hand to the side. The gun went off a few feet from her torso, momentarily disorienting her. She heard August yelling faintly over the ringing in her ears and she disarmed Rusty, tucking his pistol into her jacket pocket. August stood the man up and turned him so that he was towering over him. When his fist connected with the man's face, Rusty fell like a bag of rocks onto the floor of the attic.

Sasha added an extra kick to the man's ribs for good measure. She was beginning to wonder where August was finding these assholes, each one seemed to get progressively worse than the last. He tried to get up, and August grabbed his shoulders and growled,

"The next time I see you around here, you're a dead man."

August's face softened a bit and he looked to Sasha.

"Are you okay?" He mouthed, and she nodded assuredly. She trained her SMG on Rusty and August stood the man back onto his feet. His face hardened again when he looked back at Rusty, who was holding his hand under his nose.

 _Yep, that's broken._ Sasha thought, smirking at him.

Everything that took place in the span of a few seconds felt like it had gone in slow motion. Sasha and August didn't think, they just acted, and they were none the worse for wear. Sasha couldn't help but think about how good of a team they made. Her heart was hammering against her ribcage when August shoved Rusty towards the steps and drew out his own gun. He gestured with the barrel down the stairs and Rusty glared at him.

"Deal's off, asshole. Get the fuck out of my bar." August snarled and Rusty turned around, mumbling to himself.

"Don't let the door hit you where the skag bit you." Sasha sneered, a small satisfied smile curling on her lips.

August's revolver was still raised at the man's back and Sasha kept her gun ready at her side. They sat in silence after Rusty disappeared out of sight, bodies poised to spring into action. Sasha couldn't focus over the blood rushing through her eardrums. Of course this time had to be different, and of course she had to nearly get shot when everything seemed to be going so well. Sasha couldn't deny that she had enjoyed it. She looked at August, at the veins in his neck flowing with blood likely full of adrenaline. She licked her lips dryly and he shot her an approving glance. She couldn't tear her eyes from him, and one thought looped through her brain:

 _Put your hands on me, now._

A/N: I haven't written much violence in the past, nor have I had much experience with guns being pointed at me, but I hope to have done this justice. In regards to a lot of reviews I have been getting, I cannot say it enough: You guys really make this fic worth writing. Next, we take a break from the angst and have some fun ;)


	18. Incendiary

**A/N: Huge content warning ahead:** This is an extremely dirty chapter that does nothing for the plot, and I am not sorry. Let's sin together. You're welcome? All kidding aside, thank you for the kind words! You all make this fic worth writing! Kisses!

Sasha and August made eye contact from across the table. Sasha heard Tector's voice from below. He was likely leading the man outside, and Sasha figured he would be "dealt with".

Sasha relaxed, but August kept his shoulders tense until they heard the door swing shut downstairs. The bar was silent below them. Sasha was beginning to understand why especially dangerous clients were dealt with in a closed environment.

"I hate when they get cocky," August sighed and holstered his revolver, "they always get cocky."

"That's enough excitement for today." Sasha put her gun down and scooped up the money from the table. That intrusive thought was still bouncing around in her head. Her skin yearned to be touched.

She had to remind herself that the man she had seen was businessman August, but something about how he had smiled while holding Rusty down was so appealing. She saw a glint in his eyes that made her blood run hot.

"You oughta come to more of these. You'll get used to it." He moved over to her side of the table and put a hand on her shoulder; A normal gesture of reassurance to him. She let it fall and raised her hand.

"Stop worrying about me, babe," she put her hand to the side of his face and bit her lip, "I like a little bit of danger."

He raised his eyebrows and moved their bodies closer, "You do?" He coaxed. She swallowed hard when the distance between their faces was halved. If she was lucky, he was still feeling dangerous. Something about the flames flickering behind his eyes told her he wasn't going to be opposed to anything Sasha had in mind. There were other ways she could think of to come down from having a gun pointed in her face.

Sasha felt the small of her back collide with the edge of the table. August stepped between her legs and his hand found the back of her neck.

"Yeah," she affirmed, moving her hands to the middle of his chest, "it was a lot more exciting than I thought."

"Doesn't always go like that," he brought his other hand beside her on the table, "but I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

She let her lips graze past his and he pressed his hips firmly against hers. The air around them felt electric, the skin on the back of her neck burned where she could feel his palm.

"Normally after these things I like to have a strong drink…to unwind." He breathed against her mouth.

"Then maybe we should go downstairs." She looped her arms around his neck and pulled him in the rest of the way.

"Mnmmmmm." He growled. She would take that as a no.

Sasha wasted no time easing August into the kiss, and he eventually caught up with her. Their lips moved together furiously and August titled his head to the side, deepening the kiss. She dipped her tongue into his mouth and his hand ghosted up the front of her body. She shivered when their tongues met. Her left hand moved down the front of his chest and past his belt buckle. He twitched underneath her hand and she grazed her teeth along his bottom lip. He tried to pull away, but she kept the flesh locked between her teeth. She felt how much he liked that.

"Fuck." She released him and they pulled away, breathing hard against each other's faces. Her fingers were already fumbling with the zipper on her jacket before he could press their lips together again. She left her hands at her sides and he helped her push it off the rest of the way.

His mouth left hers again and he peeled off his gloves while she helped him out of his vest.

"Don't you get hot in all this?" Sasha winked at him playfully and he leaned in to press his lips to the side of her neck. She shivered against him when trailed quick kisses up the side of her throat. He lifted her onto the table.

"Maybe." August drawled against her skin. Sasha chuckled when he moved his mouth to her ear and his teeth grazed her earlobe. He pressed his arousal against her, his hands rough on her hips. She lifted her goggles from her neck and threw them on the table next to her. When his lips returned to her ear, his voice was thick with lust,

"Tell me how you want it."

Sasha swallowed, she knew exactly where she wanted this to go. She grabbed one of his hands and placed it on her stomach, his fingers pointing down towards the top of her jeans. He slowly moved his hand down her stomach and undid the top button of her jeans. He undid her zipper painfully slowly and dipped his hand underneath the hem of her panties. Her skin rippled at his touch.

"You're doing good so far." She looked down to where his hand was positioned and moved her hips up so his fingers just barely stroked against her clit. August let his hand descend the rest of the way. He took two fingers against her core and rubbed them in deliberate circles. Sasha hummed and looped her arms tightly around his neck. One of her hands strayed up to the side of his head and she let her hands run through his short blonde hair. Her hips rotated against his hand and he was nibbling along her collar bone.

August pulled away, mouth half open and panting. Sasha mirrored his expression, still moving her hips against his fingers. He drew his hand away and hooked both of his index fingers inside the hem of her pants. She stood up, letting him shimmy them down her legs. August pressed a kiss to the middle of her collar bone and his lips moved down her chest as he peeled her jeans off the rest of the way. She looked down at the top of his head, which was even with her hips. Electricity flowed down her lower half when he pressed his lips to the top of her right thigh. She gripped her hands against the side of the table. He did the same thing on the other side and the ache between her legs intensified. He brought his hands to rest on top of hers and she felt his breath ghost between her legs.

She gasped when his mouth met her clit and his tongue darted out to draw lazy circles around it. Her fingers curled against the wood of the table and she parted her legs as much as she could for him. Sasha sighed his name and he hummed against her core.

"Oh my god, do that again." She purred and a low groan escaped his chest. His tongue dipped into her folds and she bucked meekly against his lips. He dragged his tongue up her slit and her legs twitched.

"Shit." She breathed and he released her hands. She continued to rotate her hips against his mouth, her fingers straying from the table to rake through his hair.

When he moved his mouth out from between her thighs, Sasha groaned. He rose to his feet. When they were back at eye level, Sasha's chest was rising and falling rapidly. Parts of August's mouth and chin were slick with her arousal. He went to wipe the back of his hand against his mouth, but Sasha stopped him. She grabbed his hand and shook her head, smiling at him deviously. Pinching his chin between her thumb and forefinger, she brought their mouths together again. August groaned and pulled her against him greedily. She pressed herself firmly into his strong chest, leaning against his mouth and tasting herself on his lips. Sasha dropped August's hand and made quick work of his belt, throwing it to the ground beside them. Her hands slid up the front of his shirt and he quickly threw it over his head.

August moved his lips to her flushed neck and her hands found the top button of his pants. She used her other hand to cup him through his jeans, moving her palm against his erection slowly. He groaned against her neck. Sasha sighed and moved his hand down her taut stomach to her aching sex.

"You ready?" His breath tickled against her jaw.

"Mhmmm…"

August stepped away and walked over to his dresser. When he returned, he was already tearing a condom wrapper open. She reached across the space between them to push his jeans down his legs.

"Am I still in a position to give orders?" She watched him roll the condom down his erection and he responded to quickly.

"Of course."

Sasha turned around and leaned herself over the table, resting her chest across the hard wood. She turned to look at him over her shoulder and his tongue darted out to sweep along his bottom lip.

"I want it like this."

His façade broke momentarily, his eyes about doubled in size before he corrected himself. Sasha was fairly pleased with herself and turned back around, a small smile playing on her lips. She heard him stepping closer and felt his warm rough hands running along her back. She brought her hands to brace against the table and he pressed the tip of his cock against her slick entrance. His one hand rested against the small of her back and the other guided himself into her sex. Her mouth fell open when she felt herself stretching around him, curses muddled with her name fell from his lips until he was fully inside of her. She spread her legs as much as she could, straining against the fabric pooled at her ankles.

"Ohh - you feel – so good Sasha." August grunted, trailing a hand down her back.

Sasha moaned greedily at his praise. He withdrew slowly and then drove back into her folds lazily. Her back arched and he picked up the speed. The sound of slapping flesh was driving both of them wild. She used her own leverage to move herself back against him. He hissed through his teeth and Sasha angled her head back around, teasing him playfully.

"Too much for you big guy?"

The only words that left his mouth were, "Oh Fuck, Sasha." Which wasn't exactly an answer. She picked up her pace and he moved his hands to her shoulders, leaning down over her. His teeth sank into her shoulder and a surprised gasp escaped her lips. He kissed along the mark, humming against her skin. Their sweaty bodies collided each time he moved inside her, he was peppering her neck and shoulders with small nibbles and quick kisses. He buried himself deeper and she felt a familiar heat building up in her belly. He looped one of his arms around her and brought them up off of the table, decreasing their speed to a maddening pace.

"Oh my god, August – shit." She was gasping, his hand at the side of her flushed neck. With her front exposed, Sasha brought a hand to rub along her clit.

"Yeah, touch yourself, Sasha…" He growled into her ear. She gasped and moaned from the extra stimulation. August brought his hands around her front and teased them under the hem of her top. Sasha turned her head and kissed along his jaw down to his goatee. She came up on her toes and used one of her other hands to steady herself against the table.

His tongue ran along her outer ear and he called her anything but her actual name, thrusting into her briskly. Sasha didn't pay much attention, but she thought just his gruff voice alone was enough to push her over the edge.

"I like the dirty talk," he pressed his hips harder against her ass and she groaned, "keep it up."

The heat of pleasure in her lower half was only growing stronger, and judging by how breathless his commands were becoming, they both weren't going to last much longer. Her brain was overcome with stimulation. She wanted to look in his face when he came. She wanted him to see her cry out his name as her body was overtaken with ecstasy.

"Ahh-August," she gasped through parted lips, "Bed. Now."

"Yes babe," he moaned against the side of her face, "anything." He drew himself out of her slowly and released Sasha from his grip. She rested her palms against the table and he swept one of his hands past her ass. He whispered in her ear before walking over to the bed.

"Don't be too long."

She watched him walk away through half-lidded eyes. He turned back around and her eyes fell to his swollen, glistening member. He noticed her gaze and cast a devious smirk in her direction. He moved his hand down to grip around the base of his erection and he stroked up, his mouth hanging open sensually. One of her hands left the table to explore down between her legs. She watched his hand pass over his shaft a few times before he sat down on the bed and beckoned her over to him.

She tried to step towards him, but her foot caught on something. She shook her head when she realized that she still had her shoes on, her jeans still pooled around her ankles. She stepped out of both and peeled off her tank top. August watched her naked, toned form cross the room towards him. She stepped between his legs and pushed against his chest. Sasha crawled on top of him on the bed and poised herself above his hard cock. When she sank down onto his shaft, both of their eyes shut. She arched her back when he brought his hips up burying himself deeper in her sex. Her head lolled back and she let out a very high pitched moan.

"Riding me?" August hummed approvingly, "Dirty girl."

"You can do better than that." Sasha teased. She tucked her legs under her ass and moved her hips back and forth against him. His hands found the side of her body and she moved them up to her chest.

"Try again," Sasha picked up the speed and August leaned his head back farther against the bed, "call me something better."

"You're a dirty slut." He seemed unsure. Sasha looked off to the side indifferently and August groaned, caught somewhere between frustration and satisfaction.

"A naughty little whore." Sasha moaned in approval, his words adding fuel to the fire in her abdomen. She rewarded him, bending down to place a passionate kiss on his lips. She put their foreheads together and looked into his lustful eyes.

"Whose naughty little whore?" She challenged, placing her hands on either side of his face forcing him to look into her eyes. His gaze was intense, made wilder by her amorous commands. He moved his hands to her hips and answered, captivated by her boldness.

"You're my naughty little whore."

"Ooh yes…" Sasha moaned and sat back up against him. The connection between their bodies was becoming slicker as her finish approached. She brought her hand up to her mouth, the other fisting itself against the side of her head. August was breathing hard under her, his palms curling against her ass. She felt his cock throb inside of her as he reached ecstasy. He cried out loudly, his back arching up and pushing himself deeper inside of her. Sasha didn't follow far behind, her other hand briskly moving over her clit as she rode his softening cock. When she came, she came hard, her hands falling against his shoulders. He held her hips in place as she rode out her climax, his name falling from her lips like a prayer.

Sasha rolled off of his hips, collapsing next to him on the bed. They were both panting hard, sweat evaporating from their flushed bodies.

"Shit." Sasha mumbled. She rested her hand on her forehead and glanced at August out of the corner of her eye. He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more than Sasha's hands had. He swallowed hard in-between shallow breaths.

"Yeah," he moved his hand from his hair and let it fall limp onto the mattress, "what do I have to do to make that happen again?"

Sasha turned her head, resting her cheek against the mattress. He looked at her and they both started laughing.

"When I figure that out, I'll let you know." She was still riding her high, her cheeks were flushed pink.

"Good. I'll be back." Sasha snickered at how stiffly he rose from the bed. He got up to throw away the condom and joined her in the bed again.

"That was fuckin' fantastic, Sasha." He pulled her close and ran his hands along the side of her body. She gave him a lazy smile and propped her head up on her elbow.

"Me too." She rolled onto her back and he looped his arm underneath her neck. He let his other hand gently caress her body, his fingertips feeling like light kisses on her hot skin. His lips were trailing lightly along her neck. She drank in every one of his touches, savoring both of their highs. She turned her head to kiss him sweetly.

He pulled away and grinned at her fondly, "I'm sorry for calling you – um…a whore?" He grimaced and she scoffed.

"Don't be," She giggled at his curious expression, "I liked it."

"What? Really?"

Sasha shrugged her shoulders emphatically and continued laughing, "Guess so."

He rolled her back over and pulled her tightly to his chest. His hand trailed down her back and squeezed her ass. His mouth pulled into a lewd smile.

"I guess I'll have to keep that in mind."

Sasha hummed against his skin, her hand trailing through a light dusting of chest hair. They laid there for a time, listening to each other's labored breathing become more regular.

"How about that drink?" She chided.

"I'll think about it." August rolled her on top of him.

A/N: I am SOOOOORRRRRRYYYYY! I feel like it's necessary to say that this might be the dirtiest thing I have ever written. I promise there will be story next chapter.


	19. Affirmation

Sasha rolled her shoulders back against the passenger seat while August drove them back to Hollow Point. It was hot sitting out there, waiting on yet another one of August's drops, so she was glad to have the air whipping against her face again.

"I am going to need a shower when we get back." She said absentmindedly, letting her hand drift out the window.

"Me, too." Her words had clearly stirred him from his thoughts, and Sasha gave him a concerned look. Things were going pretty well between them lately, but Sasha couldn't help the nagging feeling that tugged at her stomach.

"Got a lot on your mind, babe?" Sasha tried to offer him a comforting smile, and he quickly snapped his eyes from the road to offer her one back.

"Just thinking about how lucky I am."

"That was cheesy," Sasha couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face, "you're going all soft on me."

"I'm always soft around you – wait, no!" Sasha and August both erupted into a fit of laughter at the color that rose into his neck, "That's not what I meant!" Sasha snorted and swatted at his arm. It had been nice to let her guard down every once in a while, it was the only time August acted like this.

"I know what you mean." Sasha sighed lightheartedly and reclined back further into the passenger seat.

The Purple Skag was dark when they returned. Sasha flicked on a light behind the bar and August set down their bags.

"Dibs on the shower." She brushed past him and ascended the stairs. Any protest from below was quickly hushed when she shut the bathroom door behind her.

Sasha peeled off her clothes, letting them fall in a messy heap at her feet. The water was cold as it struck the flesh on her hand, but she stepped in anyway, letting a delicious chill flow up her spine. The spray from the shower became warmer and she inched closer to the shower head, grabbing some soap and lathering it onto her hands.

She had definitely gotten too much sun that day. Every time her hands passed over her chest and face, she felt the light sting of a fresh sunburn. Even still, it felt good to be clean. Despite the low water pressure, the rivulets of water that ran down her body were offering much relief for her tired muscles. She continued to clean the rest of her body until she heard the bathroom door open.

"Occupied." She teased when she heard August's laugh from the other side of the curtain. His belt fell to the ground outside.

"Then either get out or make some room." She turned to look over her shoulder and saw his fingers curling around the edge of the shower curtain. She swiveled her head back around and moved her hands up to lather her scalp.

The curtain was pushed back into place and she felt the heat of his body pressing against her back. His hands came to rest on Sasha's hips and her breathing caught in her throat.

"Glad you could join me." She purred.

He ran his hands along her sides, gently leaning down to press soft kisses onto her shoulder. She brushed her fingertips over the tops of his hands, guiding them to the front of her body. She kept her slick back pressing against August, delighting at the small grunts and sighs that would escape his lips when she rolled her hips against him.

Sasha's eyes were closed against the stream that was falling over her, allowing her to drink in every sensation that begged for her attention. She could feel his pulse when her hand reached to cradle the back of his neck. The two of them probably looked ridiculous, and she smiled to herself at the thought of August with his soaking wet hair plastered to the side of his face.

He was silent as his lips ghosted past her ear, save for a quick breath against the side of her face. When she finally felt the ghost of a whisper at the base of her neck, she stopped moving against him. His hands paused on her hips and he pressed a kiss to the side of her head, whispering once again against her skin,

"I love you."

Sasha's eyes shot open against the hot water that was bombarding their naked forms. Suddenly everything felt like too much; every sensation was turned up to the highest setting. Had they not been in such close quarters, she would have backed away from him, although running away felt like a much better option. Instead, she had about a foot between her and the tile wall of the shower stall so she could only turn around and face him.

Her silence must have tipped him off because she caught him pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. She kept her eyes locked on his face, willing herself to speak up, but he beat her to it,

"Agh, shit, Sash," it sounded a lot like he was scolding himself, he wasn't opening his eyes to look at her, which was probably for the best, "I – I'm sorry." He dropped his hand and squinted at her through the spray.

His face fell slowly, his eyes full of fear and regret. Sasha continued looking at him, her expression like stone. Her chest no longer held the warmth it once did despite the hot water pounding at her back. She poked an arm out of the shower and swept the curtain to the side,

"I know." She stammered, grabbing a towel from nearby and nearly slipping on the floor of the bathroom. She thanked her lucky stars he had left the door open.

She didn't even bother closing the curtain behind her. She didn't want to look back and see his face. She didn't want him to see her face, either. The door to the bathroom swung shut behind her and she stared at the puddle of water that was collecting near her feet.

She buried the towel against her face in his room to muffle the pained cry that escaped her lips.

 _Why?_ She couldn't help think that it was her fault, but she blamed him in equal parts. He felt this way. _He_ was in love with her. Sasha felt it when he held her, she could taste it in his kisses. She just never thought she'd stick around long enough to hear it.

 **A/N:** Was I supposed to not include this? I'm sorry. (Not really though).


	20. A Way Out

Sasha stood there, her hair dripping onto the floor of his room, the towel clutched against her face for what felt like an eternity. Only moving from her spot when she heard the water turn off. August came out of the bathroom, a surprised look creeping onto his face when he saw her standing there. She saw her clothes balled up in his arms and he made a show of placing them on the table for her.

She nodded silently and wrapped her towel around her torso, passing him wordlessly. Sasha grabbed her clothes and dressed in the bathroom.

August had just – what had he done exactly? Sasha wondered if that first whisper had been his initial confession, a timid affirmation against her skin. She had thought it was so tender, the quietest she had every heard him speak. Familiar icy fingers of guilt crept in around her stomach.

Sasha continued to get dressed, fumbling with zippers that she hadn't before had trouble with, and squeezing her hair callously, stinging her scalp with less-than-gentle tugs.

She made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat when she realized she was putting her top on backwards. Hot, frustrated tears stung in her eyes as she fought to get the damn thing off. She grunted against the pull of wet fabric against her still damp skin, finally snapping it into place against her torso. She shrugged herself into her jacket uncomfortably, grimacing at the cold water that dripped from her shirt and down the front of her pants. Sasha reached for her towel and tried to wring out the hem of her shirt as best as she could when August knocked at the door,

"Sasha?" He sounded reserved. Sasha supposed frightened wasn't exactly the right word.

There was a long pause before Sasha finally croaked out, "Yes?"

She was met with a sigh from the other side of the door, "Can we talk about it?"

Sasha steeled herself in the mirror, wiping at her eyes and tucking her headband behind her ears. She gripped the door handle and swung the door inward. August was wearing just his jeans and a shirt, his hair was still dripping down onto his shoulders.

"Yeah," She cleared her throat, "go on."

"I was kind of hoping you'd do most of the talking." He smiled sheepishly and Sasha sniffed.

"I don't know what to say." Sasha stuttered, her mind passing from excuse to excuse. None seemed good enough for him, and for a fleeting moment, she wanted to give the whole game away. It was an idea, albeit a foolish one. He was patiently waiting for her. When she finally spoke up, she knew it wasn't going to be good enough,

"I'm not ready…to say that." He stepped a little bit closer to her and she looked past him at a spot on the wall. She was wholly unprepared for the amount of questions his presence sent flying around her head. He kept his eyes locked on her face and she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"So?" She probed softly. He had continued to watch her face, and she couldn't discern his expression.

"I'm not sorry," August put a hand against the side of her face, "it's how I feel."

She couldn't help but look into his face, his bare hand a welcome comfort against her cheek. She thought he wouldn't be this forward, let alone this okay with her not returning the feeling. August didn't deserve whatever was coming to him.

"Okay…" She was hoping to keep him talking over the buzzing in her head.

"This is me, babe. You don't have to feel forced into anything."

"I don't for the record." Sasha's shoulders started to loosen. He didn't look as sad as he had earlier. She brushed a strand of wet hair over his ear and he pulled her into his chest. She let out a small puff of air when he squeezed her against his body. Her hand fell to his chest and she felt his heart pounding beneath it. He really had been so nervous to say it, and it made her own chest ache.

Sasha opened her eyes when a drop of water from August's hair stirred her from her trance. How long had she been standing there? How long had they been standing there with hearts that were grieving for completely opposite reasons?

"I'll go downstairs while you get ready."

August loosened his grip on her, "It's a little early to open, babe."

"I know just-"

 _Let me go._ Sasha stepped out of his embrace and made her way towards the stairs.

He seemed to understand her body language and he returned to the bathroom.

Sasha tried to set herself busy at work downstairs, cleaning glasses, flushing taps, wiping down tables, but her frenzy was interrupted by Fiona.

Her earpiece buzzed slightly, probably caused by leftover water in her ear. Sasha shook the water off of her earpiece and placed it back in her ear. She could hear Fiona's voice crackling through the speaker.

"Hey Sasha! Sashaaaa! Are you there?" The sound of her sister's playful tone could normally always set her at ease, but not today. She hadn't given much thought to Fiona in the past few days, which brought a small pang of guilt into her chest. She knew Fiona wouldn't mention anything about that.

"Hi, Fi." Sasha croaked, her voice thick. She cleared her throat, but the clipped gasp at the end made it sound more like a sob. Fiona made a worried sound on the other end.

"Everything alright?"

"Mhm." Sasha squaked, not noticing that she had begun to clutch her rag tighter in her hands.

"Sasha." Fiona put on her 'older sister' voice and Sasha sighed.

"I need out." Sasha spoke at barely a whisper.

"What? What's going on?"

Sasha shook her head, pulling at the edges of the rag in her hands.

"I need an out, Fi."

She still kept her voice low. Whether it was from the need for secrecy or from something else, Sasha was afraid her normal speaking voice would give away how upset she was.

"Sasha," Fiona's voice got softer on the other end, "Is something wrong with him? He's not—"

Sasha's eyes widened and she cut her off, "No, no it's nothing like that." Her voice got slightly louder. She didn't know why she was defending August so fiercely. Maybe if Fiona thought Sasha was in danger near August, she would have Felix finish the key faster. It was unlikely. Sasha knew how her sister operated. August wouldn't be around long enough to be of any use to them if Fiona believed he had caused her any harm. At the same time, Sasha didn't know why she cared so much about what happened to him. He was supposed to be their mark, and none of this was supposed to turn out this way. She drew in a deep breath and continued,

"Look. This has gone on long enough."

"Okay," Fiona sounded relieved, but her voice still held a hint of worry, "I can talk to Felix tonight. Do you still remember our story?"

Sasha smiled sadly, her stomach sinking despite how much weight had been taken off of her shoulders, "Thank you, Lidia Strauss."

"Mhm." Sasha heard a hint of a smile in Fiona's voice at the mention of her alias.

"Sasha, can you at least tell me something about what's going on?"

Sasha took a deep breath, "He loves me," Fiona was silent on the other end of the line, "and I don't know if – I can't –" she swallowed hard.

Fiona's voice floated back through her earpiece, "We will get this over with, within the week. Then we are getting the hell out of here, I promise."

Sasha nodded, even though she knew her sister couldn't see her. Fiona's voice was back in her ear, much sweeter than before.

"I love you, Sasha."

"You too, Fi."


	21. The Beginning of the End

**A/N:** Cliche chapter title is cliche. Anyway, exams are coming up and then I get one hell of a long break! I'll be a little quiet here for a week, but then it's back to work! Thank you for all of the reviews! I really appreciate it!

August didn't mention that day from then on, though his refusal to take his declaration back had done nothing to calm Sasha's nerves. Part of her wanted to bring it up, but she would always offer him a quick dismissal before returning to what she was doing.

She hadn't been ready to hear that confession from him, so it had completely blindsided her. What was with him? She thought with his prickly exterior that he would be the toughest to crack, but he'd been like putty in her hands. Even worse, she had been liquid in his. She knew his intentions were far from hers, which made her even more ashamed of her undoing.

It had been an awful few days, but things were starting to return back to normal between them. She felt confident in her idea to stay near him after the incident.

She was cleaning her gun at the table upstairs when she heard August's boots approaching. When she got a good look at him as he came into view, he was out of breath.

"Sasha," August paused at the top step and she looked up, "we just had a former Vault Hunter downstairs."

She laughed at his expression, "I thought you said they were bad for business?"

"Nevermind that, this guy—er, gal," he clapped his hands together, "awesome!"

"Mmmhmmm," She put down her gun and watched him practically sprint over to her, "I'm surprised you didn't bring her up here to meet me."

"Ignoring that," he looked at her mildly annoyed, "and besides, she was with this stiff army type who wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise about her arm."

"Her arm?" Sasha's attention was caught now. August pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down quickly.

"She had a freakin' robot arm, Sasha. That's what I've been trying to say this whole time. So picture this hand right here, but all metal! Oh my god." He held out his right arm and spread his fingers.

Sasha laughed, "This is the most animated I've seen you."

"It was so cool, I wish you'd been down there." He leaned back in his chair, still smiling at her.

Sasha shook her head and continued to chuckle at him, grabbing her rag and disassembling the next gun from her bag. August watched her intently, joining her soon after he finally stopped mumbling about how cool the Vault Hunter's arm had been.

After a short time, he changed the subject, but not by much, "So what do you think? Should I get a weird robot hand?"

Sasha looked up at him and smirked, "You know, I think you should replace all of your limbs."

"I'm being serious," he looked up at her and smiled, "yes or no?"

Sasha pursed her lips at him, "No."

"No?" August was trying to sound as hurt as possible and Sasha shook her head at him.

"I know a guy who went to a doctor on Pandora for a stomach ache and came back with an extra limb attached to his spine," Sasha hyperbolized, "you'd probably go in to get your arm chopped off and wake up with a rusty fender jammed into your torso- and no kidneys."

He grimaced at the end of that sentence, but his lips just as quickly quirked up into a smirk.

"So, you're saying yes?" He set his gun back down on the table, reassembled and cleaned much faster than Sasha had been able to finish hers.

"August." She cautioned, still unable to fight the little smile that was playing across her features.

"Eh, whatever," he stood up and walked over behind Sasha, "are you finished?"

"Almost, wh—" Before she could respond, August hoisted her up out of her seat and into his arms.

"Now you are."

She couldn't help giggling excitedly as he carried her to the other side of the room

"August!" She protested when he threw them back onto his bed. She would have continued, but his lips found the corner of her mouth and she fell silent.

"I'm kidding, Sasha," he chuckled under her, "I won't do anything like that. No matter how awesome it is."

He leaned up to kiss her and her eyes fluttered closed. His hands ran up her sides and held her face in place over his. When they pulled back for breath he teased,

"I think you like me better with two real hands." He grinned wryly, letting his fingertips wander underneath her shirt. Sasha's cheeks flushed but she still found the brain-power to respond dramatically,

"Yes, and it would be a shame to lose you to the _machines_!" She gasped loudly and August rolled his eyes, pulling her in to kiss him again. He pushed his hands slightly higher underneath her shirt before pulling away with another dumb grin on his face,

"Now, what about my legs?"

"Oh my god, that's even weirder." Sasha groaned and rolled them over, falling together in a tangle of limbs. She thought he was being positively ridiculous, but she couldn't deny that every laugh that bubbled up from her chest was real. Her cheeks were warm when August pressed his lips to them. After an eternity of chaste touches and quick kisses, he mumbled against the dip in her collar bone,

"Are we okay?"

She angled her head to look at him, her hands still running along the sides of his arms. The question seemed odd to her, maybe even a little unnecessary to be coming from him. She nodded silently, wearing a cautious expression.

"Yes."

August closed his eyes and rolled onto his back, leaving Sasha staring at the side of his face. He breathed out through his teeth and Sasha rolled onto her stomach.

"Good." He sighed. Sasha watched him carefully, bringing one of her hands up to the side of his head. She ran her fingers through his hair and he opened his eyes to look up at her. She made sure his gaze was met with a warm smile.

His eyes softened again and Sasha felt herself relaxing.

"So, Vault Hunters…?" She probed, keeping her hand moving through his hair. He leaned into her hand and she brought it down the side of his face.

"Yeah," he looked at some far off place behind Sasha for a second before meeting her eyes again, "you would have liked the girl."

"Now you're making me sad I missed out!"

"It's fine, it was probably your only chance to meet Vault Hunters ever, so it's not a big deal." He drawled sarcastically.

"Like you meet them every day!" She protested, swatting at his chest. He chuckled and Sasha rolled her eyes.

"Today was a two-for-one kind of deal, Sasha. You gotta admit that's pretty rare."

Sasha shrugged, "You know what else is rare?"

She was hoping he'd bite; it was the perfect opportunity.

He quirked his eyebrows up, "What?"

"Finding a Vault Key…" She kept a lilt in her voice after the sentence.

August sat up on the bed and Sasha pushed herself up.

"What are you saying?" August's brows furrowed. She had him intrigued.

"You remember my friend I'm here visiting?"

He nodded.

"Well she kind of sort of maybe might be in possession of a Vault Key."

August sat up, and Sasha was met with a long pause as August was clearly processing the information. Sasha's heart pounded in her chest, her blood thrumming through her eardrums. He crossed his arms over his chest and her stomach dropped. She couldn't tell what he was thinking after the initial statement. Was he mad that she brought it up? She was vaguely aware that it might not have been the best time.

All he managed to say to her was, "You're shittin' me."

Sasha shook her head slowly and her lips turned up into a thin smile, "Never about this."

That seemed to set him at ease, because his expression soon fell into complete disbelief.

"Sasha," he breathed, "that's – that's incredible. Where did she find it?"

"Eden-6." Sasha answered nonchalantly, reading from her own mental script.

August continued to stare at her in complete disbelief, "Are you freaking serious?! Sasha do you know how much one of those things is worth?"

"I'd wager somewhere in the millions…" She sighed dreamily in front of him.

"Yeah," his eyebrows fell, and he put his hands on either side of himself on the bed, "what is she going to do with it?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to help with that."

He sat a little straighter and gave her a stern look, "No."

"What?" She was worried about this. No matter how much money was on the table, he was always cautious to a fault.

"I don't do 'friends'." He shot her an exasperated look, and she responded with a scowl.

"We 'do' your friends all the time." She added, mimicking his bizarre phrasing.

"Those guys? Sasha. Those idiots aren't my friends," he sighed, "friends are a lot harder to rip off."

 _Yeah, I'd know._ She thought before protesting, "But this is millions of dollars," she grabbed his arm in a pleading gesture, "for _both_ of us."

"Assuming we can find anyone to buy it." He rolled his eyes over to her.

"C'mon, babe," Sasha shifted so that her legs were under her on the bed, "for me?"

She hated dredging that tired phrase up on him, but it seemed to have some effect. There was a long pause and August turned his torso to face her. He kept his face neutral, looking from her hands to her face and back again. He put a single warm hand over both of Sasha's and she gave him a small smile before he cautiously mirrored her expression.

"Think of what we could—"

"I'll make some calls."

"What?"

"Yes," August shrugged her hands off of his arm, "but only because it's you asking." She smiled warmly at him and leaned in to kiss the side of his face. He caught her mouth with his and she felt them falling back on the bed. The ferocity with which he moved against her took her breath away. When he finally pulled away, Sasha looked up at him through hazy eyes.

He lowered his face to her collar bone and she started chuckling. She ran her hands along his arms, finally resting them on his shoulders. He came back up to look into her face, a look in his eyes that made her blood run through her veins like lava.

"We're gonna be millionaires babe." He grinned against her mouth and she squeezed his shoulders. His hands found their way back underneath her jacket and she groaned. She became too caught up in the moment to acknowledge the small, whisper-like voice in her head. She willed herself to melt into his hands, writhing underneath him. He caught her lip between his teeth and she shivered. She kept her hands on his body, gripping him closer to herself and grinding their bodies together. She dragged her nails down his back as the voice in her head became loud enough for her to hear. By the time their bare torsos were flush with one another, it began to claw at the back of her skull, screaming for release.

This was the end.


	22. Nightmares

A/N: Pretty violent in a really unhappy way. I made myself sad.

God. August was paranoid.

And this wasn't his usual brand of caution, it was some kind of mega-paranoia. It really pissed Sasha off. He would drill her with questions daily, always asking if she trusted 'this Lidia person' as he would say. Every time, Sasha would simply nod and say that Lidia was an 'old friend', although the depths of that phrase thankfully flew over August's head.

It wasn't like his anxiety was completely unwarranted. He had every right to not trust her when Sasha really thought about it.

His other work took a place on the back-burner for the moment, since his time was stolen by Hyperion.

 _Hyperion._ Sasha's nose always turned up at the mention of that name. There was making a deal with the devil and then there was this. This was on a whole other plane.

Of course, once August mentioned who they'd be working with, she felt a reasonable amount of fear creep into her chest. Hyperion, the company that levels bandit encampments for merely existing, was about to get ripped off by a couple of lousy Pandorans. What were they going to do to Hollow Point when they were out ten million dollars with a fake vault key? What would they do to Sasha? Fiona? Felix? Naturally, August didn't know that he was hocking a piece of painted garbage, and that made Sasha wonder what they would do to him.

If Fiona was to be believed, Sasha would be long dead before Hyperion even got to her. Maybe August would put a bullet in her head if he was feeling charitable.

Sasha's nights had been terrorized by nightmares, always presenting themselves in flashbacks. She would be at a deal with August, although it didn't feel like she was _there_. It was as though she were watching through a different set of eyes. It would go as it had during her waking hours, until the very moment it started to get out of control. She would be the one pulling the knife on August. It was her head that connected with the table as August slammed it onto the pile of dollar bills. She could still breathe, but his grip was tightening. She would plead against the lack of oxygen when he flipped her over. Two August's were above her and their mouths moved too quickly for her to read what they were saying. She could only hear her own frantic inner dialogue as her nails dug into his wrists. Sasha would kick and squirm, but he was always too strong. The last thing she saw before waking were his blue eyes, turned wild and stormy in the light of his betrayal.

She would wake up next to him, always tangled up in arms that had either been strangling her just moments before. He would place a gentle hand on her shoulder as she shook in fear, but she was beyond consolation. She could still feel the ghost of his grip around her throat.

The dreams continued, only becoming more violent with each passing day. By the time they were to meet with Fiona, she was almost glad she wouldn't have to wake up to August's face anymore.

A/N: This is very short, I have to admit, even for me. As far as the next few chapters go, I'm planning on them being kind of long. And yes, it really hurt to write about those nightmares. How dare I write that with my own two hands?


	23. Tommy

Once Fiona had been ushered into the bar on the day of their meeting, Sasha ran through her laundry list of ridiculously specific questions August had asked. Muddled in Fiona's expression of utter confusion, was a small hint of pride. It was a silent reassurance that Sasha had done her job perfectly. It felt good to see her sister there again, and it felt even better knowing that they'd soon have a couple more millions of dollars to their names.

She heard August's laugh from upstairs and she fell back into character. Fiona's face turned into a scowl of disapproval as she finally laid eyes on August and Tommy, but Sasha tried to avoid dwelling on that too much. Now wasn't the time to worry if her sister approved in her taste in fake boyfriends. She watched him usher the small man outside.

She shook her head and continued to stand behind the bar, keeping her hands busy.

It wasn't until August's lips were pressed against the side of her face, that she looked up again. Why hadn't she ever noticed how open he was with PDA? She supposed not being around too many people together factored into that. She straightened up when she saw Fiona's face.

If she could have taken a picture, she would have. Sasha was sure it was all a part of her act, or it must have been something to do with that.

 _Always the disapproving older sister_.

When Fiona cleared her throat, Sasha remembered what they were supposed to be doing.

"You must be August." She clearly articulated, snapping back into Lidia's shoes. Fiona could be angry at Sasha all she wanted, but Lidia had to play it cool. Sasha wondered how much August was going to test her sister that day.

A crack came from outside of the door before August and Fiona could make their way over to the table.

Sasha's eyes snapped up when Tommy came crashing through the doorway, finally landing with a loud thud as Tector cracked off another shot behind him.

She tried not to look, she really did. She told herself to play it cool, because this was _definitely_ a regular thing. She told herself that August's Sasha was totally used to this, she wasn't scared that this would happen to her.

It wasn't working.

When August's finger finally pulled back the trigger, her blood ran cold. It wasn't like it had been her first time seeing August 'take care' of someone, but this one time seemed to release every nervous feeling bouncing around in her brain out into the rest of her body.

 _Shit._ She kept repeating to herself. _Shit. Shit. Shit._

That was going to be her wasn't it? On the ground, begging for her life.

Her smile didn't flinch, though her chest tightened when August looked back to her. Sasha had always heard women say it casually about their negligent boyfriends or forgetful husbands, but this man was _literally_ going to be the death of her and she felt powerless to stop it. She could help but picture herself in Tommy's place, being dragged out by one of August's underlings by her feet, a bullet in her skull.

She was practically vibrating with anxiety when August turned his back to walk away with Fiona. This deal needed to be over now. She wanted to get somewhere far away from here with a bed, and maybe some decent food. She mopped up Tommy's blood, her mouth falling into a thin line of concentration. Sasha and Fiona just had to make it through today and they could finally be free.

Fiona played her part flawlessly, even though Sasha nearly had to save her ass from grabbing August's hand away from the key. 'Eridium poisoning', she had said. She could make that man believe anything!

Leaving with the key meant they were that much closer to leaving all of this behind. Sasha's nervous energy kept her quiet, and she quickly followed August out of the Purple Skag. She felt a slight bit of remorse from when her face had fallen in front of her sister, but it wasn't until August's arm circled around her shoulders that she truly felt awful.

 **A/N:** I'm soooo happy you all are enjoying this story. I love writing it! Your reviews are a joy to wake up to!


	24. Run

The World of Curiosities did little to make Sasha curious. Most of the monstrosities that looked back at her she had only heard stories about, or had seen as large black blurs on the horizon. This close, they were just plain creepy, which only added to her nerves.

She tried to walk closer to August, who flinched when he nearly walked into the skeleton of… _something_.

"I just wanna get the hell out of here." He muttered and Sasha followed close behind. Shade, the owner of this mausoleum, was leading them out to where they were going to meet Vasquez. Sasha hoped it would be filled with less dead things.

"Just let me, uh, know if I can get you fine gentleman - and lady- anything!" Shade stood in front of the two of them awkwardly and August let out a long sigh.

"Shade could you—"

"All under control, Shade." Sasha interjected and Shade nodded vigorously in silent reply.

Once Shade left, August set the key's case down next to the table, "Appreciate that," he rubbed at the arm that had been holding the key, "That guy, and this place, give me the creeps. Let's hope Vasquez is on time."

He wasn't.

When someone from Hyperion finally did show up, it was two 'someone's.

 _These guys are from Hyperion?_ Sasha found herself biting back giggles as she looked over the two men in front of her. One was small and hunched over, with big glasses covering his nervous eyes. Essentially his appearance told Sasha that natural selection must have not reached Helios, yet. His friend, 'Ten Million Dollars', he might have used more hair products than August. He didn't look like it, but Sasha could see that he was just as much of a nerd as his smaller friend. I mean, what kind of normal person would get a cyborg arm?

Sasha had been expecting slick, business-types, with dead eyes and suits that might as well have been made from orphan's tears. These nerds weren't the jackasses who ruined Pandora, they couldn't have been. Still, somehow they were talking to them instead of Vasquez, and Sasha didn't like it one bit.

She decided to be polite and make eye-contact with the Hyperion lackeys instead of eyeing them up like she was. It seemed to be making the littler Hyperion uncomfortable.

The bigger Hyperion, who finally gave them his damn name, flashed Sasha a small smile. She returned Rhys' gaze, meeting his mismatched eyes cautiously.

 _That's funny._ She thought to herself, looking at his eyes again. _No, it couldn't be._

Of course, the cyborg had an ECHO eye implant. Naturally, nothing seemed to be going their way today. Hyperion was totally the corporation to send someone who could appraise the key! Why hadn't they thought of this?

 _Because August thought the key was real._

Awesome.

She turned away and whispered the new found information into her earpiece. Fiona did not sound happy on the other line, and Felix was downright frantic. This certainly shook up their plans a bit. She heard shouts concerning an EMP from the other end of the line, and she almost applauded Felixes ingenuity. Electronics were so finicky most of the time, it wasn't like the Rhys would think anything of it if his eye started to go on the fritz. At this point, she would have tried everything up to accidentally punching him in the face in order to pass off their key.

Granted, the show of hysterics she had to put on in order to distract everyone was in line with the over-the-top tactics she had been thinking of. She had never acted this way in front of August, always quietly saying when she got a weird vibe from a client or communicating her concern with a look. Shouting and hyperbolizing were never her strong points, but her voice could always get her feelings across. Naturally, from her little show, August was more nervous than she had hoped he'd be.

Sasha's smile quickly faded as she realized something else. Before she could wonder if the EMP would affect Rhys' arm, her question was quickly answered by the key shattering into a million pieces.

Sasha wasn't sure what August's anger was aimed at. Part of her was hoping he thought Rhys had smashed a priceless artifact. She had no connection to this guy, so she would have gladly gone along with whatever face-smashing rage August would have flown into. She looked down at the pieces scattered at her feet. Paint was chipping, wires were poking out at ridiculous angles. Any fool could see it was a cheap replica.

She would have time to dwell on face August made as she sprinted away from him through the mayhem and dust. There would be time to patch Felix up from the bullet that she tried to convince herself wasn't meant for her. Her mind would allow her all the time in the world to remember the fleeting eye contact she had made with August as Fiona fought to keep the caravan door closed.

For now, Sasha and Fiona had two extra passengers, no money, and no vault key.

 **A/N:** Who is excited for the new year? 2016 brings a world of possibilities for all of us, and I wish you all the best! I'll be continuing this fic through canon and a couple weeks (or months teehee) past canon events, so I hope you're all excited for that. Happy New Year, I hope you all had a great holiday season, no matter what you celebrate. I hope to get better at updating more frequently now that the holiday season is over. I've had to fight with the canon story a lot so you all wouldn't be reading the exact things that happened in the game, but I'm pretty happy so far. **Enjoy and see you in 2016!**


	25. Free-For-All

Sasha had been lying to herself when she thought she was keeping Rhys and his friend Vaughn in the caravan for anything other than their money. Pandora was a planet of liars, and she was definitely one of them.

These guys had oozed Hyperion the second Sasha had set eyes on them, and she wasn't expecting them to keep their promise of splitting the money. They were the kind of men to say anything to keep themselves alive, and who wasn't nowadays?

This world they lived in, you'd be anyone anybody told you to be for the right price. Sasha was living proof of that.

As it turns out, so was Rhys. Hyperion from the day he left the womb. She wished she could say she was surprised when he told her the story of making tiny business cards when he was a child. Sasha almost felt sorry for him, but she was too stubborn to say anything about that. From where he stood, she must have had the same look about her; dripping 'Pandora' from her hair to her practical boots. She found herself wondering what Pandora would have done to Rhys had he been in her position. Picturing him with a gun was funny to say the least.

Getting separated from Fiona and Vaughn was something she was more than pissed at Fiona for letting happen, but she was even angrier when she finally caught sight of the mess they had gotten themselves into.

They had tracked the case down to some kind of murder-death-rally in the middle of an abandoned ATLAS facility, and it had been so like Fiona to get right in the middle of it.

She had little time to be mad as her and Rhys fell right into the fray, dodging bullets, bandits, and even skags. From where she stood, it sounded like they were going to have to answer to Hyperion, too, which had been something she'd hoped would fall on August.

She had gritted her teeth, squeezing a few more rounds into a Psycho than she should have when she thought of him. She could get over the con in due time, so long as she never saw him again. She thought about how he'd looked after the rug had been pulled out from under him. He was pathetic…scared…helpless. Goddammit, she couldn't have any thoughts like that about a guy who shot at her. Part of her would have rather dealt with Hyperion than to see him look at her that way again.

Felixes betrayal was well deserved in any case; Sasha was beginning to believe they finally had a few things going her way. Even though she understood why he would want to keep the money for himself, she couldn't help the tide of fury that had washed over her. When Fiona had mentioned that she didn't warn Felix about the bomb in the briefcase, _of course there was a bomb in the case_ , Sasha thought it justified. He was prepared to reap all of the hard work Sasha and Fiona had done and leave them to be sitting ducks for Hyperion. She took him for a lot of things, but never for a traitor, especially after everything he had done for them in the past.

Sitting there in the stadium, amongst all of the carnage, she had never felt more disgusted with this damn planet. Here they were, picking up the pieces of another catastrophe and starting over, again. She wished she could say she shared Rhys' anger about their financial situation, but this was just the way things were.

"Are you okay, sis?" Fiona whispered to Sasha. The two of them had walked a couple paces away from where Rhys and Vaughn were standing.

"Yeah," Sasha mumbled distractedly, "how about you?"

"I'm good." Fiona sounded like she had been expecting her to say more, but Sasha knew neither of them had the energy to continue that conversation.

"Hey, Fi," Sasha spoke up again after sifting through all of Bossanova's drops, "are you sure about these guys?"

"What do you mean?" Fiona was turning a shield over in her hands, not bothering to look up.

"I mean," Sasha lowered her voice, "do you think we should ditch them?"

"They won't be very useful, maybe just dead weight."

"I agree…"

"You don't sound very sure." Fiona looked up, but Sasha was watching Vaughn. The poor guy had his head hanging, bent over a pistol he'd been looking at for the past few minutes.

"I'm just thinking they won't last very long." She was in utter disbelief at what she was saying. Her mind was at war with wanting to hold on to these idiots for some semblance of companionship and tossing them out of the back of a caravan as soon as they weren't paying attention.

" _We_ aren't going to last very long if we don't—" Fiona was cut off by a large object streaking over their heads. Rhys was standing on top of a very rickety platform, but was soon joined by a Hyperion Loader Bot. Sasha was going to warn him, but she was quickly cut off by Rhys disappearing below ground.

They ran over to the edge of the new hole in the ground and called out to him. From the looks, or more fittingly, the sounds of it, he was going to be alright. Sasha was just wondering how they were going to get him back up here.

"What do you see?" Vaughn shouted from next to Sasha.

"Just a bunch of old ATLAS tech!"

Of course, ATLAS, the former weapons, and just about everything else, manufacturers. It had been the best news Sasha had heard all day. Fiona tried to catch her arm as she flung herself down into the ruins, but she deftly avoided her sister's grasp. She landed heavily on the metal, the impact vibrating up her legs. Breezing past Rhys, she pushed the first button that caught her eye.

She was not expecting the ATLAS Silver that rose from the console, but she could have jumped for joy.

Eventually, past all of the buzzing in her head, she heard Fiona and Vaughn join them in the ruins. Vaughn took to the same curious nature that Sasha had and pressed another button next to her. She didn't know why he'd get so excited about a watch, but at least it meant he'd keep his hands off of her Silver. Hopefully that Loader which called Rhys "father" (weird) would be able to drag all of their sorry asses out of there once they were done geeking out about their new toys.

Subtle movement from the floor caught her eye, and her gaze followed a lighted path streaking through it. Even as she stared at the two pillars that rose from the floor, she couldn't make heads or tails of what she was looking at. As a map appeared in front of them, illuminating the dark ruins around them, Sasha only had more unanswered questions.

 **A/N:** As you can probably tell, I will try to fill some of the 'dead air' (so to speak) in the story with some minor dialogue. I won't necessarily deviate from canon all that much, but it's pretty safe to assume that the conversations we have in game aren't the only things our characters say to each other. I'll try to write more dialogue between the sisters, since I really do love exploring their relationship! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and see you soon for the next one!


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